How to Ruin Christmas Without Even Trying
by KaitouKiwi
Summary: Christmas is quickly approaching and everyone is getting into the holiday spirit. When Rhea wants nothing more than to see snow, Kai decides to grant that wish. What happens when a quick trip to the Frozen Wasteland turns into something unexpected? Will the Ninja be able to save Christmas from the last person they expected to ruin it? Not related to my other stories. KaiXOC.
1. Little Snow Bunny?

**So, hello everyone. This is a Christmas story that is based off of a dream that I had earlier this week. It's a little weird for the plot of a Christmas fic, but I blame my brain for that. I had not seen anything quite like this on here so I hope you enjoy it. Yes, Rhea and Laurie are in this story. No, it does not in any way connect to events that have happened or will happen in my main series. This chapter is a little on the short side, but I hope you enjoy it. :)**

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Chapter One: Little Snow Bunny?

Laurie stood outside of Grand Sensei Dareth's Mojo Dojo and felt the slight chill of approaching winter on her bare arms. There had been no training today, as much as she did not like to think about it, there would not be as much training at all from now on. Her brother had completed his destiny, purging the evil of the Overlord from Ninjago.

Now everything was over. Lloyd was older now, a mishap that had occurred with some Tomorrow's Tea. Laurie was happy that even in his advanced age she was still older than he was. Her father, Lord Garmadon, had been given a second chance at life; his body now devoid of any traces of the venom from the Great Devourer. He was kinder and gentler, attempting to heal his fractured relationship with his only daughter. Laurie appreciated him trying. She wanted for everyone to try and be a normal family, considering that the Final Battle was now over.

The sun was high in the sky, the glare intense. Laurie turned her gaze now to the asphalt and felt a comforting hand on her shoulder. Expecting to see Kai, Laurie blushed and turned around quickly. It was her mother instead, her graying hair blowing lightly in the breeze.

"What are you doing out here, honey?" Misako asked kindly. "The party isn't over yet. Don't you want to come back inside?"

Dareth was hosting a Christmas party, one of the first celebrations since the Overlord was defeated. The orange ninja appreciated the gesture, and Dareth's sudden maturity, but did not feel like there was much to celebrate. Her life seemed to be over; there was emptiness in her soul. For so long Laurie had been learning Spinjitzu, training to become something that her father would absolutely despise. It was a subtle rebellion that had turned into a lifestyle, a lifestyle that others had shared. Now the battle was over and there was no real need to be a ninja. She was just a regular individual.

"It's okay, mom" Laurie sighed, rubbing her arms. "I'm okay out here. I just feel like I need to be by myself."

Her mother gave a slight frown, sadness in her eyes. "Alright, sweetie" she said. "Everyone's inside if you want to come in." With that, the aging woman opened the glass door to the building and disappeared inside. The orange ninja continued to feel a presence behind her. "Look, mom, I don't want to talk right now" Laurie huffed, practically bumping into the individual behind her.

Rhea gazed up at her friend with perpetually melancholy irises. Her frown was not as prominent as it usually was, so Laurie could tell that she was happier today. "Hey, Rhea, sorry about that" the teenager apologized, patting the younger girl's head. "I thought you were someone else".

The blue-haired girl shrugged her shoulders and just gazed up into Laurie's ice blue eyes. It was somewhat unnerving, having an honorary sister who did not speak. The star shaped mark next to her right eye seemed darker than usual. "Hey" Laurie breathed, placing a hand on Rhea's shoulder, "is everything okay?"

Rhea pointed up towards the sky and her frown deepened. She pantomimed what Laurie assumed was falling rain and then rubbed her arms. The orange ninja stared at the girl for a while, her mind utterly blank concerning what she wanted. Rhea rolled her eyes, rubbing her sleeved arms furiously. Then Laurie gasped. "You want to see snow, don't you?" she asked quickly, her hands flying up to her mouth.

With a neutral expression, the purple ninja nodded her head.

"Who wants to see snow?" interjected a familiar voice. Kai leaned on Laurie's shoulder before grabbing her into a hug. "Do you want to see snow, little snow bunny?" the red ninja chuckled, swinging his girlfriend around in a circle before placing her safely on the ground.

Laurie lost her footing and backed up into Kai, slightly disoriented. "I'd love to see snow" she answered, "but Rhea's the one who wants to go see it."

Kai gazed at the twelve year old girl whom he still could not figure out. It seemed to be that he was the only one who could not understand her. Even Garmadon could figure out what she wanted! Accepting Garmadon into the family was extremely difficult considering his massive dislike towards the former Dark Lord. The man had seemed to forgive Kai for everything in the past so he should do the same.

"It doesn't really snow in Ninjago City" Kai replied, "but it's always snowing in the Frozen Wasteland." He watched as Rhea's brown eyes seemed to light up. "It's settled then" he laughed, picking the girl up by underneath her armpits. "We're going to take a field trip to the Frozen Wasteland." As the girl narrowed her eyes, he placed her down and watched as the purple ninja scurried inside the dojo and stood next to Lloyd.

Laurie gave a small laugh and gave Kai a punch to the shoulder. "You sure have a way with kids, don't you?" She leaned her head on his shoulder and gave a sigh. "This will be my first Christmas with snow. So, when are we going to this Frozen Wasteland?" she inquired.

Kai wrapped his right arm around the girl and pulled her in closer. "I say we go as soon as possible. How about we go tomorrow?" The smile that Laurie gave him was warm and wide. "It's settled then, we'll head out tomorrow on the Ultra Dragon. We can have some fun. It'll just be us, the guys, Rhea, and Nya. How does that sound?"

"I think that sounds awesome" Laurie sighed, closing her eyes.

It was going to be a winter vacation, something that normal people did. The orange ninja was happy to be doing something like this with her family. This would be good for everyone and maybe, just maybe, this could be the opportunity to see Rhea smile for the first time.

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**Was this an okay first chapter? I sure hope so and while the story progresses if you have a better idea for a title than I am all ears. I don't know, I can't think of anything to call this so I'm using this work in progress title. If you guys like it the title stays and if you think of anything better I will seriously take it into consideration. Seriously.**

**Reviews are greatly appreciated because I enjoy reading them. The next chapter will be longer, but it's not quite done yet. :)**


	2. Snow, It's Really Cold

**Can you tell that I am extremely bored and am taking a break from my school work to just write and write and write? Yeah, so here is chapter two already because I'm really bored and just finished it. So in this story Lloyd is whatever age he is post "Child's Play" which is a switch from my other stories. Just throwing it out there. And if you don't know what a karambit is then you should look it up on Wikipedia because the image they show is the one I imagine Rhea using. Well, she has two of them so yeah...**

**Please enjoy! :D**

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Chapter Two: Snow, It's Really Cold

"It's colder here than I thought it would be" Laurie managed to say between chattering teeth. She stood amongst the ninja and Nya who laughed at her, each wearing a heavy, winter jacket that corresponded to their color. Laurie's had been lined with faux fur and she had taken it upon herself to do the same with Rhea's, though the young girl did not seem to have any specific feelings towards it.

Jay grabbed a pile of snow in his gloved hands and condensed it. "It's snow, Laurie. What did you expect?"

"I expected for it to not be this cold" the girl chuckled nervously, watching as Kai came to embrace her. The warmth radiating from his body was absolutely heavenly. Good thing for her that he was the Ninja of Fire. Laurie nestled her head against his chest and watched as Cole and Jay began to throw snowballs at one another. The orange ninja glanced up at Kai. "Do you want to do that too?" she smiled, her nose and cheeks red with cold.

Kai's attention was on Rhea who seemed to be wandering off with Lloyd following behind. "It's okay" he replied, obviously not listening to Laurie, "We can just stay here if you want."

A sharp pain ran through Kai's head, followed by the unbearable sensation of numbness. He turned around to see his sister smirking and making yet another snowball. "Got you!" she laughed, throwing another sphere of frozen precipitation.

This time Kai ducked and laughed when he accidentally pulled Laurie down with him. "Sorry about that" he apologized quickly, wiping some of the snow off of Laurie's pants.

"I'm fine" the orange ninja laughed, getting to her feet. She silently cursed herself for deciding to invest in mittens instead of gloves. Attempting to even form a ball with the snow was impossible. It was lopsided and Laurie frowned when a majority of the snow just fell back towards the earth. "Wow" she sighed, throwing the rest of the icy material from her mittens on the ground. "I'm really bad at this".

Lloyd watched his sister's failed attempts at joining in the team wide snowball fight, laughing hysterically. "That's funny, isn't it Rhea?" he snorted, turning towards the girl who stood next to him. She seemed sad, well no different than normal he guessed. Rhea kicked a pile of snow and watched as it tumbled forward, forming a small mass that rolled its way towards the group below. It hit Zane square on and he stumbled slightly, falling into Jay. "Nice one" the green ninja laughed.

Rhea just stared down at her friends. This was fun, better than she had expected it to be. The edge of her right lip pulled up slightly. Lloyd saw this and his emerald eyes widened. Never had he seen Rhea smile. Well, it was not a technical smile, but it was the closest he had ever seen her come to one. He looked around the area slowly and grabbed Rhea's wrist. "Come on! I want to show you something cool" he smiled.

The girl's face fell once more and she reluctantly allowed the older boy to drag her away from the group. They were on a snow bank, higher than everyone else. The slight hill was getting steeper and Lloyd released Rhea's wrist so they could both climb easier. As much as she did not want to climb, Rhea was curious as to what Lloyd wanted to show her. The two could see the top of the ridge approaching. Lloyd climbed up first and then reached back down to aid Rhea.

A sudden chill blew across the land and the young girl pulled the hood of her jacket over her head. Itchy fur attacked her ears and she frowned. Why was this necessary? Fur made better insulation? Yeah, right. Rhea crossed her arms over her chest and looked at Lloyd. She widened her eyes and shook her head slightly.

"Oh, right" the green ninja replied, "I wanted to show you something." He raced forwards with Rhea following closely behind. The snow up here was deeper than down below and the trek became slow and somewhat difficult. Rhea was up to her thighs in the slushy matter. "We're almost there, I promise!" Lloyd called back, wading through the snow. A clearing lay up ahead where only minimal snow had fallen. Lloyd grinned. "Okay, here it is."

There were swirling patterns that seemed to be carved into the rock. It seemed a little odd to Rhea that this particular section was the only one seemingly devoid of any snow. A small golden statute of a snake sat idly along the edge of the clearing, freshly fallen snow lightly coating it. What was this place? How had Lloyd known that it was here? She stepped gingerly on to the bare rock and followed the lines. They swept this way and that, snow caking the crevices. There were two large spirals that sat near the edge of the design, approximately twenty feet apart. Never had Rhea seen anything like this.

"Pretty cool, isn't it?" Lloyd asked, moving to stand next to the purple ninja. He watched her nod her head slowly. "Have you ever heard of the Serpentine?" he continued, sitting on the cold ground. Rhea followed suit, scooting to face her brother, eyes wide. She nodded again, more urgently this time. "Well this is where the Hypnobrai used to be locked away" Lloyd whispered, leaning in closer to the girl. This was fun, almost like telling scary stories in the dark.

The Serpentine. Rhea knew about them all too well. It had been those vile serpents that had terrorized her village so long ago, forcing her family to flee. The term "Hypnobrai" was very unfamiliar to her. Was there more than one type of Serpentine? She looked at Lloyd carefully, shrugging her shoulders and shaking her head.

"Oh, you don't know what the Hypnobrai are, do you?" the green ninja asked. It was becoming easier to discern what Rhea was trying to say. She had been living with them for almost two months now. "Well the Hypnobrai are a tribe of Serpentine that place their victims in a trance and control them". He watched as Rhea's brown eyes widened with fear. He was better at telling stories than he thought.

"Well isn't this cute?" hissed a voice. "Lloyd Garmadon has found himself a mate."

Lloyd froze and slowly turned his head around to see a familiar figure standing behind him. "Skales" he gulped. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same question, boy" the Hypnobrai General continued, slithering forward. "I used to live here you know." He stopped directly in front of the two ninja, Staff in hand.

Suddenly, Lloyd felt a surge of anger overwhelm him. Had Skales called Rhea his "mate"? She was nothing of the sort, just a friend, practically his sister. "Leave us alone" he threatened, standing up and tugging Rhea backwards with him. "And she's not my mate or whatever. She's just a friend!" Lloyd felt Rhea slip from his grasp and he gasped.

Skales was dangling the girl in front of him, his tail wrapped around her left ankle. Rhea's hood had fallen off of her head and long blue hair tumbled downwards, trailing the ground. She squirmed in the snake's grip and swung her arms wildly. "I don't ever recall seeing her before" Skales chuckled, lifting the purple ninja higher.

Rhea narrowed her eyes and yanked both of her hair clips out swiftly. The makeshift ponytail that they had held together disintegrated, and the girl was covered in a curtain of blue. Of course they were not normal hair clips. These were karambits. She jabbed her index fingers through the holes in the handles of the two weapons and quickly slashed Skales.

He cried out, taken aback by the unexpected attack. His grip on the girl failed and she fell to the ground, quickly rolling back towards Lloyd. She got to her feet and offered one of the small, curved blades to the green ninja. He looked at it with scrutiny. "Keep it, use both of them. You're probably better at it than me." Rhea shrugged and readied her weapons, the blades curving downward from her wrists.

"Insolent child!" the Hypnobrai yelled, rattling his tail angrily. "I did not come here to do this, but I could always expand my army. Look into my eyes".

Lloyd jumped in between Skales and Rhea, his eyes locking onto his friend's. "Don't look, okay?" he asked desperately. The purple ninja nodded slowly and averted her gaze to the ground. Suddenly Lloyd was pulling her again. She stumbled, still looking down at the ground. How were they going to make it through the thick snow without that snake catching up to them? Rhea wanted to look back, see if he was closing in on them, but she did not. Lloyd had looked serious back there, worried even. She had never seen him look like that. No, she would keep her eyes right where they were.

The snow had built up slightly more than when they had initially arrived. Rhea was slowing down, the icy matter grabbing at her. She was scared now. The Hypnobrai could control people. She did not want to have anyone control her. Rhea's heart was pounding painfully against her chest, her breathing labored. There were hands around her waist now. She panicked, slashing out at the mysterious individual, eyes still on the ground.

"Please, stop" Lloyd breathed, a small chuckle escaping his lips. "You're way too good with those weapons of yours."

Rhea looked up and saw that it was the green ninja who had a hold on her. He hoisted the girl on to his back before running once more. She felt awful, accidentally harming her friend like that. The small cuts and gashes in his jacket were obvious, but there appeared to be no blood. At least that was good news. The hill they had scaled to reach the Hypnobrai Tomb was quickly approaching. Rhea buried her face into Lloyd's hood, wrapping her arms around his neck.

They were sliding, she could feel it. Lloyd was attempting to run down the slope, but not succeeding. He was tripping, stumbling over himself, until he just lost control. The two ninja fell forward, rolling down the hill until the snow leveled off. Rhea poked her head up, extremely disoriented. There seemed to be double of everything: two of Lloyd, two trees in the distance, but there seemed to be more than twenty of something else. She had never seen these things before though.

What were they?

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**I do enjoy my cliffhangers. :3**

**Reviews are nice and so are you guys because you're reading this!**


	3. Kai Knows How to Accessorize

**Yay, another update! This is another chapter of a decent length and it has a little something called slight plot development! :D**

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Chapter Three: Kai Knows How to Accessorize

"Hypnobrai Scouts" the green ninja gasped.

Rhea turned to face her friend, noticing that her double vision was beginning to wear off. Slowly, she looked back at where the Hypnobrai were currently. Yes, there were definitely more than she would have liked to see. They seemed to be fighting the others. Rhea could see Kai now, kicking one in the chest before quickly throwing a snowball at the serpent's head. Then there was Cole who was fighting…was that Jay?

Lloyd was running towards the fight and Rhea got to her feet, blades ready. She followed him closely, watching as one of the blue and grey snakes slowly approached. With narrowed eyes, the young girl lunged forward, digging one of her karambits into the snake's shoulder. She yanked it out promptly, watching as the snake cried out in pain and fell to his knees. That was when Rhea realized that she was the only person who had brought weapons. They were always with her, keeping her hair up and out of the way. She had not thought twice about them. No one thought they were going to be ambushed today.

A rough hand gripped the hood of Rhea's coat. The girl lost her footing on the icy snow and was pulled backwards, thrown to the ground. It was Laurie, her eyes red instead of their normal blue. Rhea wriggled out of her itchy coat and watched as her friend fell, landing in a snow pile. What was going on here?

There was the sound of music playing. It was faint, but definitely audible. The purple ninja walked back over towards Laurie, still sprawled out on the ground. Her weapons were ready, just in case something happened. Why had the orange ninja grabbed her like that? Those red eyes, they were absolutely terrifying. Rhea now stood next to the teenage girl, her breathing shallow. What if Laurie did attack her? Would she be able to bring herself to hurt her sister?

Laurie stirred and the young girl froze. "What happened?" the red-head asked, sitting up slowly and gripping her head. Rhea relaxed, her shoulders slumping. Laurie's gaze drifted to the small purple coat that lie in the snow and then up to the person standing over her. "Rhea, put your jacket on!" the orange ninja cried, fumbling to get a good grip on the article of clothing. Curse these mittens of hers. Next year she was definitely buying some gloves.

Rhea knelt in the snow and placed her karambits on the ground. Gently, she took the coat from Laurie's grip and slipped her arms inside. Then she tackled the orange ninja to the ground. The whole situation had been unnerving. Perhaps this was what Lloyd had been talking about: the power of the Hypnobrai.

"Nice to see you too" Laurie replied with some uncertainty. She awkwardly patted the young girl's back. Rhea never acted like this, she barely showed emotion. Something awful must have happened, but Laurie could not really remember. The purple ninja broke the embrace and Laurie saw her big brown eyes glistening with tears. "Oh my gosh, what's wrong?"

What was wrong? Everything was wrong! Rhea felt so scared and small. She could not lose this family, not like she had lost her real one. The thought was absolutely terrifying. This was fear, an emotion she had not felt in the longest time. Perhaps living with these people was not good for her. The emotional wall Rhea had spent the longest time building was crumbling down. Emotions, she could not figure out how to deal with them. She just sat on her knees in the snow, sniffing slightly.

Laurie placed both hands on the girl's shoulders. "What's wrong…" she started to say, but then her ice blue eyes scanned the surrounding area. Hypnobrai? That was right; a group of Hypnobrai had attacked them during their snowball fight. They had gotten Jay, but had they gotten her too? Laurie racked her brain, trying to remember. They must have! Everything in between their arrival and now was fuzzy. Well, that was twice in Laurie's life now that she had fallen for the same trick. She stood quickly, pulling Rhea up with her. "Come with me and stay close" she said hurriedly.

The purple ninja nodded before reaching down to grab her weapons. Laurie was walking ahead quickly, her focus on the others. It appeared that Jay had also come around. Rhea was not sure what had managed to save everyone, but she was happy that they were safe. The girl rushed towards her companion, trying to catch up with her, but a scaly hand covered her mouth and pulled her away.

It was a Hypnobrai, one of the grey ones that had been roaming the area. He wrapped his right arm around her Rhea's front, pinning her forearms to her sides. Her range of motion was seriously limited, the karambits virtually useless. Rhea froze, but her breathing came quick. The serpent jerked her head back roughly and her eyes widened with fear.

"Look into my eyes" the snake hissed.

No, she could not fight back. Rhea wiggled in her captor's grasp, trying desperately to escape. It was difficult, her neck aching terribly from the pressure keeping her head back. The serpent's crimson eyes were glowing and she could not look away. This was terrifying, Rhea was shaking now. She could not remember the last time she was this scared. Wait, what was she thinking about? It was getting harder to remember now…

There was someone behind the snake now. The individual used some kind of weapon to hit the serpent on the back of the head. He let go of Rhea, crying out. She tumbled to the ground and scurried away, but something grabbed her foot. It was that snake from earlier, the dark blue one. What had Lloyd called him? Skales, that was it. He had his tail wrapped around her ankle once more, but only held her back. Rhea was trying to dig her gloved fingers into the snow, hoping to somehow crawl away from these enemies.

"You fool!" Skales growled, using his Staff to hit the lower ranking serpent once more. "Your instructions were not to hypnotize anyone. You were only supposed to detain the ninja, prevent them from escaping." He turned his attention now to Rhea who was still scrambling to escape. "So we meet again, girl" the Hypnobrai General smirked, dragging her closer to him.

She turned around quickly, using one of her karambits to open a gash on Skales' tail. He frowned. "Disarm her!" the serpent ordered. The grey Hypnobrai Scout hurriedly approached the young girl, ripping the weapons from her hands. She narrowed her eyes, trying to keep her grip on them, but it was no use.

Skales held something in his hand that Rhea had not seen previously. It looked like a bracelet, a silver band with a blue gem in the middle of it. Liquid swirled inside, reflecting the high afternoon sun. "Just give me a second, girl, and this lovely trinket can belong to you" he hissed, unlatching the band. Rhea did not like the looks of this. Whatever this snake was planning it could not be good. Did anyone know what was happening? Could anyone help her?

"Not very talkative, are we?" Skales laughed, leaning over Rhea. "It makes it all the more easier for me. No one will hear you scream". The purple ninja kicked out with her free foot and made contact with the serpent's abdomen. He growled, wrapped his tail around her other ankle as well, and looked back towards the grey snake. "Rattla, hold her down!" Skales ordered. The grey Hypnobrai quickly obeyed his superior and knelt beside the girl, restraining her arms. Rhea could feel the tears coming. What were they going to do to her? She closed her eyes, fearing the worst.

She heard the sound of Skales cry out. The tail around her ankles was gone now. Rhea opened her eyes and shifted her body weight backwards, delivering a hard kick to Rattla's jaw. The grey Hypnobrai released the girl and she grabbed her weapons from the ground next to him.

It was Kai; he had thrown himself at Skales, tackling him to the ground. Rhea watched as the two fought, Kai having the upper hand. A sound came from behind Rhea and she whirled around quickly only to see Zane knocking Rattla unconscious. "Are you alright, Rhea?" the nindroid asked, walking towards the small girl. She nodded quickly and closed the distance between her and her brother. His arm wrapped around her shoulder and she felt safe.

"Pick on someone your own size, Skales" Kai growled, his hand around the serpent's throat.

The Hypnobrai General gave a strangled laugh which Kai did not understand. Then there was something icy cold against his skin. The red ninja released his captive and stood up quickly. "What _is _this?" he asked, gawking at the strange bracelet that now adorned his right wrist.

"It's a present" Skales chuckled, getting up off of the ground. "Merry Christmas." He began to slither away, Staff in hand. "Retreat, we have done what we came to do!" he called out. The Hypnobrai Scouts dispersed, running to catch up to their leader.

Kai yelled in frustration, racing to catch up with them, but Cole held him back. "It's not worth it, Kai" the leader said, grabbing on to the hood of the red ninja's coat. "Everyone is safe now and that's all that matter."

Rhea watched with wide eyes as Kai stopped struggling. "You're right" she heard him sigh, turning to walk back towards the group. "I'm just upset that they were able to hypnotize Jay and Laurie I guess. I shouldn't have let that happen." He approached Zane and Rhea, Cole following close behind. Kai crouched down next to the purple ninja, his eyes somewhat sad. "You're okay, right?" he asked, placing his hand on his knees.

The girl nodded quickly and Kai let out another sigh. At least he had managed to do _something_ to help someone today. A tug on his left coat sleeve brought him back from his thoughts. Rhea pointed at the accessory now latched on to Kai's right wrist. Oh yeah, Skales had put this on him. With a frown, the red ninja tugged on it with his left hand. The thing was sturdy and did not yield.

"Kai, are you okay?" Laurie was running towards the red ninja, Jay and Nya close behind. The orange ninja stopped, trying to catch her breath. She stood next to Rhea and placed a hand on the young girl's shoulder. "What happened?" she asked, now addressing Rhea, "I told you to stay close."

"Skales had her" the nindroid answered plainly, watching as Jay and Nya caught up with the group. "It is most fortunate that Kai was able to recognize the danger Rhea was in."

Laurie turned back towards the red ninja, a smile on her face. She pulled him into a hug, laying her head down on his shoulder. "You're awesome, Kai" the orange ninja said, her voice slightly muffled by the thick material of Kai's coat. The red ninja returned the embrace, his expression forlorn. He did not _feel_ awesome.

"How am I awesome?" he asked, slightly angry. The two broke apart and Kai just stared down at Laurie with narrowed eyes. "We were ambushed! You and Jay were hypnotized! I could have prevented that!"

This time it was the blue ninja who spoke. "Kai, you just said it yourself, it was an _ambush_. No one had any idea that the Hypnobrai would be here. Last we saw of them they were in Ninjago City, when the Stone Army attacked." Jay stood in front of his friend, arms crossed. "You can't always beat yourself up over what you could have done. We're fine and you can see that."

Nya placed a hand on Jay's shoulder and gave her brother a smile. "He's right, Kai. No matter what happens if everything turns out okay in the end then there shouldn't be any reason to worry about it." Her gaze drifted towards a shiny object on Kai's wrist. It reflected the sunlight briefly, drawing her attention to it. "Kai, what's that?" Nya inquired.

The red ninja looked down to where his sister was staring. "Oh, I'm not sure what it is" he replied, trying to tug it off yet again. "Skales put it on me after I tackled him. It doesn't seem to want to come off." Kai watched as Laurie now took his wrist and flipped it over, looking for a mechanism that would unlock it. Finding none, she sighed and released the red ninja.

"What's the blue thing?" came a voice. Everyone turned around to see Lloyd standing next to Rattla, giving the serpent a tap with his foot. The green ninja left the unconscious Hypnobrai where he was and approached the others. "That blue gem looking thing, what is it?"

"It looks like a smaller version of the orb that Skales has on his Staff" Cole started, taking Kai's wrist. The red ninja rolled his eyes, hoping that grabbing his arm was not going to become a regular thing. "You know what I'm talking about, right? The orb that holds the anti-venom." The black ninja lightly shook Kai's wrist and watched as the liquid inside of the bracelet swirled. He cracked a small smile and began to chuckle. "It's a little gaudy for my taste, but you pull it off Kai. You sure know how to accessorize."

The others began to laugh as well, except for Kai and Rhea. The red ninja narrowed his eyes, obviously angry. "Ha ha, very funny. You probably wouldn't think this was so funny if you had this dumb thing stuck on you!" Rhea was curious as to what the trinket was for. She doubted that the Serpentine were friendly enough to actually give Kai a Christmas present. Besides, Skales was going to put the bracelet on her and was using force to do it. No, this situation was not as comical as everyone made it out to be.

Suddenly, Kai fell to his knees and grunted in pain. Laurie was immediately by his side, a hand on his shoulder. "What's wrong, Kai? Are you okay?" she breathed, watching as the red ninja clenched his teeth and shut his eyes tightly. The orange ninja was worried, her eyes wide. "Please, Kai, say something!"

It was cold, running through his body. The feeling was comparable to ice growing inside of his veins. Kai felt dizzy and disoriented. "I'm okay" he managed to say, getting to one knee. "I'm just not feeling the best right now." Laurie helped him to his feet and the red ninja felt extremely light headed. He placed his left foot backwards in an attempt to steady himself, but lost his footing. Kai began to fall backwards when Cole grabbed a hold of him.

"You're obviously not okay" the leader frowned, giving Laurie a worried glance over Kai's head. "Come on, we'll get the Ultra Dragon and go home, alright?" Cole and Laurie supported most of the red ninja's weight as the trio began their trek across the icy terrain. Zane, Jay, and Nya followed closely behind while Lloyd waited for Rhea to catch up.

The green ninja watched as she quickly pulled her hair back once more, using the karambits to keep the ponytail in place. "Sorry I took off without you after we fell" Lloyd apologized, his gloved fingers interlocked behind his head. Rhea ignored her friend, her thoughts on Kai. He had been fine only a few minutes prior, so why did he suddenly feel sick? She had a bad feeling that it had to do with the thing on his wrist.

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**Like I said, a little weird for a Christmas specific story. I think it's just the fact that the story is set during winter and in later chapters everyone is preparing for Christmas and it's all nice and full of family stuff...**

**Thanks for reading! :3**


	4. Let's Pick on Cole

**So it's every college student's favorite time of the semester: finals week! And that's sarcasm, in case anyone didn't catch that. Yeah, why am I awake at 2:00 in the morning? Not only is it because I'm doing laundry, but because I'm studying for my Biology Final tomorrow! :D**

**Not like I haven't been studying all day. And I mean ALL DAY. Yeah, but I took a break while my roommate was blasting Christmas music to write this. And I now enjoy taking funny bits from the chapter and making them my chapter titles so I hope you guys like that too. XD**

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Chapter Four: Let's Pick on Cole

Kai let a long, drawn out breath escape his lips. He was currently laying down on one of the sofas that had been recently purchased for the move. After defeating the Overlord and freeing Garmadon from the influence of evil, it became a bit crowded in the small one room and one half bath apartment. There was absolutely no room at all for everyone to live comfortably.

Luckily, Dareth still had some money left over from the victory of the Ninjaball Run. He had been saving over forty thousand dollars in the Ninjago City Bank for a rainy day. The dojo owner had graciously decided to use some of this money to purchase the ninja a new place of residence: a certain Hero Suite that they liked so much. It was surprising how much the cost of the home had dropped since their initial interest in it. And, no, Lord Garmadon had not saved the city this time.

The red ninja gazed around the large living room that he was still not quite used to. Having to not scramble for rent was both surreal and relaxing. He was feeling much better than he had back in the Frozen Wasteland, the dizziness and vertigo gone. The icy sensation that had overrun his body had not returned and Kai was thankful. It had been absolutely awful, almost paralyzing. He gazed down at the bracelet around his wrist with a frown. Cole was full of it; he did _not _make this work at all. No one could.

"Beat you again _and_ I have the new high score!" Lloyd chuckled, thrusting a fist into the air. He was sitting on the floor with Jay, the two playing a video game. The green ninja had been excelling at the dragon racing game he was so bad at when he was younger. This was probably the fourth time in a row he had won in the same sitting. Jay placed his controller on the ground slowly and crossed his arms over his chest before standing to leave the room. "Aw, come back, Jay!" Lloyd called out, clearly upset. "I didn't mean to!"

Kai gave a grin before sitting up on the plush black sofa. "Don't take it too personally" he informed Lloyd. "He takes his high scores very seriously. You should have seen his face when the Hypnobrai burned down the monastery we used to live in. The first things on his mind were the high scores that had been permanently deleted." The red ninja watched as Lloyd just stared at him with wide eyes. "True story" Kai finished with a laugh.

"Sounds like someone is feeling a lot better" Laurie smiled, entering the living room from the training area. She plopped down on the sofa next to Kai and leaned back against the arm of the furniture. Kai put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer to him. "Yeah, someone is definitely feeling a lot better" the orange ninja giggled.

"I haven't felt sick for a few hours" the red ninja replied. He gazed at Laurie, happy that he was feeling better too. Of course, his thoughts drifted back to the incident at the Frozen Wasteland. As much as everyone continued to tell him there was nothing he could have done about the ambush, Kai continued feel slightly guilty. "How are _you_ feeling?" he asked.

The orange ninja raised an eyebrow, her freckled nose crinkling slightly. "I'm feeling fine" she answered plainly, her tone slow. Why had Kai asked her that? Laurie used the back of her right hand to feel the red ninja's forehead. Well, there was no fever or anything. "And it clearly looks like you're feeling fine too."

Kai blushed slightly and averted his light brown eyes. That question had been somewhat unnecessary. Of course Laurie was fine. He was letting his guilt get the best of him. "Yeah" he said, "everyone is feeling fine and tomorrow is Christmas Eve." The smile on the orange ninja's face was wide and Kai gave a small laugh. "Well it looks like someone is in the holiday spirit."

"Of course she is" the black ninja interjected, leaning against the door frame that led to the kitchen, a smile on his face. "Who isn't happy when it's Christmastime?" Cole held a plate in his hand; it was adorned with several decorated sugar cookies of varying colors and shapes. "Does anyone want a cookie?" he asked, entering the living room.

Lloyd stood up, scrutinizing the plate in his friend's hand. There were cookies shaped like Christmas trees, Santa hats, presents, and candy canes; each had a different color icing, sprinkles, and even sugar crystals. The green ninja crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm not eating them if you made them" he answered with a neutral expression. He could hear his sister and Kai laughing from the sofa.

Cole frowned and rolled his eyes. "I get it, let's pick on Cole" he laughed sarcastically, his grip on the plate tightening. "I didn't make them, Lloyd. Zane did. _Now _do you want one?" he asked once more.

"Yes I do" the green ninja smiled, grabbing a candy cane cookie from the plate and taking a big bite out of it.

Laurie could not help but continue to laugh at the situation. Poor Cole, she felt awful for thinking that this was funny, but the guy could not cook at all. "Can you bring them over here?" she chuckled. "I want one now too."

The black ninja approached the sofa, sighing. "Take as many as you want because I'm pretty sure Zane's making more." He watched as Laurie picked three cookies off of the plate, eating each one hungrily. "Wow" Cole commented, his eyes wide, "I didn't think you'd actually take a whole bunch. There are other people in this house too you know."

"You just said that Zane was making more" the orange ninja said with a muffled voice. Her hand lay gingerly over her mouth, preventing anyone from seeing how full it currently was. Laurie swallowed quickly and let her hand rest on the arm of the sofa. "Plus, I'm kind of hungry right now."

Footsteps approached the room and everyone turned to see Zane, wearing his pink apron. "Please do not ruin your appetite then" the nindroid smiled kindly. "Dinner is cooking as we speak."

Kai stood from the sofa and extended a hand to Laurie. She took it and used the momentum to stand as well. "I'm glad that you're cooking, Zane, because I am absolutely star-" The red ninja was cut off by an unexpected prick in his wrist, underneath the strange bracelet. There it was again, that painful icy feeling. It was overwhelming and Kai stumbled backwards into Laurie. She steadied him, worry plain on her face. "It's okay" Kai breathed, his teeth clenched. The dizziness was overwhelming and he was feeling clammy. Laurie helped Kai back over to the couch where he just collapsed, utterly weak.

"No, it's _not_ okay" the orange ninja huffed, sitting down. "We're going to figure out what's wrong, I promise."

There was a pressure inside Kai's head, it was almost unbearable. Something seemed to be pressing down on his brain and the red ninja closed his eyes tightly, trying to alleviate whatever it was. _Everything has gone dark. I can't see anymore._ _Open your eyes! _Kai's eyes snapped open against his will and his breath caught. Was that someone talking to him? He felt his stomach twist into a knot as he slowly began to recognize the voice.

"What's wrong now?" Laurie asked, her hand in Kai's. "I thought you were falling asleep or something."

"Nothing" he lied, "I just can't get comfortable." Kai could not bring himself tell Laurie what was happening, but he could not tell the others either. It was almost Christmas and he did not want to make them worry anymore than they already were. That voice though, he knew who it belonged to now and he did not like it. The pressure in his head was still there, but the voice was not. Maybe he was just hearing things.

Rhea poked her head around the door frame that led to the training room, her eyes resting on the red ninja. She had heard Laurie making a fuss and assumed that something had occurred. Almost everyone was in the living room which surprised her. Well everyone except Jay, but she had passed him in the hallway. The others were out in town, doing some last minute Christmas shopping. Kai looked pale and that worried her. The young girl stepped inside the room.

"Hey, Rhea" Lloyd smiled, noticing his friend. "Do you want to play this game with me?" He gestured to the large television set on the wall with a controller in his hand. The purple ninja shook her head back and forth. "Well suit yourself" the green ninja shrugged, but he did not play the game either. He was concerned about Kai.

The small girl walked over to the sofa that Laurie and Kai were occupying. Her gaze immediately went to the bracelet on Kai's wrist and her face fell. Something seemed to be off, but she could not be sure of what it was. Without a world, Rhea grabbed Kai's wrist and was happy that he did not object. Laurie, on the other hand, did.

"What are you doing, Rhea?" she asked tiredly. Her tone seemed to communicate the slight annoyance she felt. "Kai's not feeling well again so we should just let him rest."

Rhea shook her head once more and pointed to the gem on the trinket. The orange ninja raised an eyebrow and followed Rhea's finger. The thing on Kai's bracelet, what was so important about it? Then Laurie noticed that some of the liquid inside was gone. Where did it go? "Kai, did you notice that the stuff inside the bracelet is disappearing?" the red head inquired, her focus still on the gem.

A small tap on her shoulder caught Laurie off guard. She turned to see Rhea holding a finger to her lips with one hand before gesturing towards the red ninja. He was sound asleep. The purple ninja dropped Kai's wrist and soundlessly hit the sofa. Both girls looked each other before turning their attention towards everyone else in the room.

"He's asleep" Laurie whispered, slowly making her way off of the seat as to not disturb Kai. Zane and Cole nodded, both disappearing into the kitchen. Lloyd turned his attention back to the video game and turned the volume down before resuming play. The orange ninja stood next to Rhea and watched as the young girl met her gaze once more. There was no need for Rhea to talk because Laurie knew exactly what she was thinking.

This situation was more serious than either of them had expected it to be.

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**Yeah, so now I'm back to studying and stuff...forever. So there probably won't be a lot of updating done until Friday afternoon or evening. Studying for finals until then. DX**

**And I was happy to see a review from a certain someone, but I'm sorry about the account thing. :/**


	5. I Hope You Like Frozen Waffles

**So I may have lied because here is an update and it's not Friday yet. :P**

**The beginning of this chapter is mostly fluff and I'm seriously hungry right now, but my roommate doesn't want to go eat dinner yet so I've just been thinking about food and you can totally tell in this chapter...**

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Chapter Five: I Hope You Like Frozen Waffles

There was the sound of movement and rustling in the general area. Kai opened his eyes slowly, the early morning light streaming through the large window practically blinding him. They should really invest in some blinds for the wall of glass. When the green spots clouding his vision dissipated, the red ninja noticed that he had an orange blanket draped over top of his body. Wait, how long had he been asleep?

A low rumbling noise interrupted Kai's thoughts and he looked down towards his abdominal area. He did not notice the slight burning sensation coming from within when he had initially woken up. The rumbling came once more, sounding more like the growl from a wild animal. Realization hit Kai and he sat up quickly. He had missed dinner last night! His stomach responded with another odd noise, confirming his suspicions. Tired and starving, the red ninja threw his legs over the sofa up slowly.

"Good morning" Laurie said in a cheerful voice. She was standing in the corner of the living room, using scissors to cut open a large plastic bag. Kai froze suddenly, surprised by the orange ninja's presence. Laurie noticed this and gave a small smile. "Sorry about that" she apologized quickly, placing the scissors on the wooden floor and walking over towards Kai. Laurie gave him a hug before grabbing her blanket off of the sofa cushions. "Did you sleep well?"

Had he slept well? Kai could not really tell. He did not even recall falling asleep to begin with. The night had been dreamless and dark, but Kai did not remember waking up once in the middle of the night. Perhaps that constituted sleeping well. "Yeah" the red ninja replied, placing an arm around Laurie and leaning down to give her a kiss on the cheek. "I did sleep pretty well last night. Thanks for the blanket by the way."

Laurie blushed slightly, her grin tightening. "It was no problem. You looked a little cold and I didn't want to go into your room because all of the other guys were sleeping. So I just gave you mine instead." She heard an odd sound that broke the silence now between her and her boyfriend. "Is that your stomach?" the orange ninja chuckled, her shoulders rising and falling quickly. Kai averted his gaze to the ground which caused Laurie to laugh even more. "Come on" she continued, grabbing Kai's hand and throwing her blanket back on to the sofa. "Let's go make some breakfast."

Kai allowed Laurie to drag him into the kitchen, but he looked back into the living room during the journey. "What's in the giant bag?" he inquired, taking a seat at the large dining room table. The plastic was opaque, preventing the red ninja from properly identifying its contents.

"Oh, it's a Christmas tree" answered Laurie, moving quickly to the refrigerator on the opposite side of the room. She yanked open the bottom drawer of the machine which held the frozen items. With a frown, the orange ninja scanned the contents of the drawer with her ice blue eyes. "Um…I hope you like frozen waffles, Kai" she called out, reaching for a box of the breakfast items. "That's practically all I know how to make. I can't really cook."

A large grin spread across Kai's face and he gave a loud cough, trying to hide the chuckles that were escaping his chest. "That's fine. I like waffles." It was sometimes usually extremely humorous to watch Laurie in the kitchen. She was as bad at cooking as Cole was, but she stayed away from making her own dishes. Cole, on the other hand, continued to try and experiment with entrees. "So that's a Christmas tree, huh?" Kai said, bringing the conversation back to the bag in the living room. "When did we get it?"

"While you were sleeping, obviously" the orange ninja replied sarcastically, taking four waffles out of the cardboard box and placing two each on a plate. With a frown, Laurie tossed the now empty box into the trash can before shoving one of the plates inside the microwave. As the pitiful meal began to spin on the rotating table, she turned back to Kai. "Mom and father went out earlier this morning and picked it out." Laurie had attempted to start calling Garmadon "dad", but she just could not bring herself to do it. She had spent so many years using the less endearing term that she could not stop.

Kai leaned his elbows on the table, head in his hands. "So I'm assuming it's a real tree then" he stated absentmindedly, staring down at the polished wood.

A small bell resounded through the kitchen and Laurie quickly switched out the plates of waffles before starting the microwave once more. "You would be absolutely correct" smiled Laurie, walking back over to the fridge to grab some syrup off of one of the shelves. With the plate on one hand, and syrup in the other, the teenager awkwardly used her elbow to close the appliance before approaching Kai. "Breakfast, sir" she enunciated, placing the items in front of the red ninja who returned a smile. "We figured we would need a _real_ tree for our first Christmas together as a _real_ family."

There was no arguing with that logic. Kai stared down at the floppy discs of reheated batter before standing and heading towards the island in the middle of the kitchen. He opened up a nearby drawer and plucked out two pairs of silverware before closing it again. On his way back to the table Kai handed Laurie a fork and knife. "You forgot the utensils" he laughed.

Laurie's face fell and she placed a hand on her forehead. She was terrible in the kitchen already and she _always_ forgot the silverware. With a heavy sigh, the girl turned towards the microwave and opened it, grabbing her breakfast from inside. She closed the distance between herself and the dining room table quickly, taking a seat opposite Kai. "Well don't keep your stomach waiting anymore. This is a gourmet meal after all" Laurie attempted to say with a serious expression.

"Well then I'd better eat it quickly before someone steals it from me" Kai replied, playing along with the joke. The two ninja burst out in a fit of laughter as they began to eat their breakfast. "Do you want something to drink?" the red ninja asked, standing once more. He reached up into one of the overhead cupboards and grabbed two glasses.

The orange ninja turned her upper body around, leaning her right arm on the back of the chair. "Sure, can you get me some milk?"

Kai opened up the refrigerator and poured a glass of orange juice and milk before shutting the door. "There you go" he grinned, placing the glass of milk in front of Laurie before sitting back down at his own place setting. "It was the least I could do after you spent all morning just slaving away in the kitchen."

"I know" Laurie replied sarcastically. "Seriously I should help Zane cook sometime. I'm sure my culinary expertise would rub off on him." There was another fit of laughter between the two. Laurie enjoyed moments like this: just the two of them sitting and laughing, being together. Her thoughts drifted back to last night and the drastic change in his well-being. This, in turn, reminded her of the bracelet. "Hey, Kai" she started, dousing her waffles in maple syrup. "Did you happen to notice that the liquid inside of your bracelet is starting to disappear?"

The red ninja glanced down at his right wrist and raised it closer to his face. Laurie was right; some of the liquid inside of the odd gem was gone. He shook his arm slightly and watched as what was left sloshed around inside. There was still a lot of the mysterious substance left, but some had indeed vanished. "Now I notice" answered Kai, turning back to his breakfast.

He had only eaten one of the waffles, but he did not feel very hungry anymore. Kai started thinking about the voice in his head and it made him feel slightly sick. The guilt was beginning to return, but not for the ambush this time. No, Kai felt guilty about keeping anything that was happening to him a secret from the guys, especially Laurie. He just did not want to make them worry. Today was Christmas Eve and they would be decorating the home for tomorrow. No, there would be no ruining anyone's Christmas.

"Are you done?" asked Laurie, bringing Kai back to reality. He blinked quickly before nodding. The orange ninja took his plate and dumped the remaining contents into the trash can before throwing the dirty dishes into the sink. "You seem a little distant. Are you feeling okay?"

"I'm actually feeling fine" Kai said. It was true, he did not feel sick. Of course, that could most likely change at any given moment. It seemed to be that the episodes happened randomly and instantaneously. Suddenly, Kai had an idea and he stood quickly from the table. "Is Rhea here?" he inquired, his light brown eyes resting on Laurie.

The orange ninja furrowed her eyebrows, surprised by the sudden question. "Um…yeah, she's probably in the training room. I mean if she's not there she's probably in our bedroom so check either place…" Kai was already gone though, disappearing through the kitchen door. Laurie leaned back against the sink and crossed her arms over her chest. She hoped Kai was being truthful with her and that he was actually feeling fine. He was acting kind of strange at the moment.

Kai poked his head around the door frame to the training room. He saw Rhea, still in her light purple pajamas, using her karambits to take a few nicks out of one of the wooden dummies. It looked as if she had just awoken recently as well. Her light blue seemed slightly frizzy, the bangs across her forehead sticking up in odd directions. "Morning, Rhea" he smiled, quickly crossing the room to stand next to the girl.

Rhea jumped backwards, her eyes widening. Oh, it was only Kai. She relaxed, giving the red ninja a small wave. It seemed odd that the Kai would just come and talk to her. Maybe come and _find_ her was the right expression to use. Rhea shrugged her shoulders, gripping the weapons in her hands.

"Do you mind if I talk to you about something?" Kai questioned. Rhea scrunched up her nose before tying her long hair back with her weapons. She gave a quick nod and motioned for the red ninja to follow her. The two crossed the wide room and sat in the corner farthest away from either of the two doors into the room. Rhea crossed her arms and waited for Kai to talk.

Kai inhaled deeply. He felt bad about using Rhea like this. She did not talk, so there was no reason not to confide in her about what he was feeling or, more importantly, who he was hearing. "Laurie was talking to me earlier about the liquid in this thing" he started, his voice low. "It's disappearing and I think I know where it might be going." He watched as Rhea's expression did not change. Goodness, what was this girl thinking? It was so difficult for him to tell. Kai sighed, leaning his back against the wall before continuing.

"Last night right before I started feeling sick there was this prick in my wrist, underneath the bracelet. I think I'm being injected with whatever is inside and _that _is what is making me feel so awful." Rhea's eyes widened and Kai was reassured that the young girl was interested in what he had to say. "Not only that, but yesterday, right after I started feeling sick, there was this unbearable pressure in my head and then I heard a voice; a voice that I recognized."

Rhea sat on her knees now, ignoring the slight discomfort of the wood paneled floor. So this was more serious than she had originally anticipated. Kai hearing voices was not good, not at all. She placed her small hands on Kai's shoulder, prompting him to continue his story.

The red ninja felt his muscles tighten slightly as Rhea touched him. He was not used to the girl acting like this. She was always distant and reserved. Perhaps the trip to the Frozen Wasteland yesterday had resonated something within her. Maybe she actually did have emotions inside of her. He looked at her big, brown eyes. They were wide and full of anticipation. Kai was confident that he picked the right person to talk to.

"Rhea, I heard Skales talking to me."

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**I want to go eat so badly. And thanks to PowerinPink and Wafflegirl0304 for wishing me good luck on my exams. I appreciate it and you will probably be happy to know that I'm positive I passed my Biology one today. :)**

**Reviews are nice and so are all of my readers. :3**


	6. Time to Land the Mother Ship

**Oh my goodness so all of the models of atoms and molecules in my Chemistry textbook reminded me of Christmas ornaments. Then I got an idea for a chapter and I had to write this! XD**

**It's actually kind of a sad chapter, but, hey, you can't have a story about ruining Christmas without a little bit of sadness.**

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Chapter Six: Time to Land the Mother Ship

"Wow, that's a big tree" Lloyd stated, gawking at the seven foot tall hunk of vegetation. It stood in the corner of the room, in between the entertainment center and the doorway that led into the training room. Every pine needle seemed to glisten in the sunlight that filled the entire room. The blonde haired boy crossed his arms over his chest and let a smile play on his lips. "This is probably the best Christmas tree ever. I can't wait to start decorating it."

Laurie went to stand next to her brother and leaned on his left shoulder. "Only if you can reach it, pipsqueak" she teased. It made the orange ninja very jealous that she was now shorter than her younger brother, even if it was only by a couple of inches. "We can't start decorating it yet until all the ornaments are brought down from the attic".

There was a loud thud that caused the siblings to turn around quickly. Garmadon had just dropped a rather large plastic box on the ground. The aging man stared at his children with happy eyes, a smile on his face. "I'm sorry about that" he apologized, bending over to pick up the box once more. "It kind of slipped out of my grasp."

"No problem, dad" Lloyd answered, chuckling slightly. Maybe it was just adults that participated in the silly rituals of Christmas, but Garmadon was wearing one of the most terrible sweaters he had ever seen. It was a black knit turtleneck sweater with a very unrealistic golden dragon sewn into the front. Despite the sentimental value, Lloyd was sure that if his father were to enter an ugly sweater contest at this very moment he would be a force to be reckoned with. "Let me help you with it."

Garmadon shook his head, moving the box out of Lloyd's reach. "That's alright, Lloyd. I managed to bring it this far, I think I can finish the job. Besides, the tree is right over there." The former Dark Lord grunted as he made his way across the room to the Christmas tree and set the box of ornaments down gently near the television set.

"Stubborn guy" Kai frowned, leaning against the wall near the training center.

Laurie turned her head to see the red ninja, a smaller, cardboard box in his hands. Through the corrugated edges that were beginning to tear away, the teenager could see the glistening colors of the ornaments that lay within. "What do you mean, 'stubborn'?" she asked with a laugh, holding her hands out to take the box from Kai. He shook his head and carried the ornaments over to the tree himself, placing his box on top of the one Garmadon had brought. "You're probably the most stubborn one here, Kai."

Kai crossed his arms over his chest. Yes, he was a stubborn individual. Garmadon though, he was just as stubborn! The red ninja thought back to the brief moment he had just shared with the man in the attic. _He _had reluctantly offered to carry the heavier box for the former Dark Lord. What had Garmadon decided to do? He decided that he would carry it anyways. Kai had tried to be a nice person, but Garmadon had blown him off. Then again, it was the first time in a long time that the man had been able to spend Christmas with his entire family. Perhaps Kai was just analyzing everything too much…

"Earth to Kai" came a voice from behind him. The red ninja whirled around to see Jay standing on a ladder, garland in one of his hands. "Laurie was asking you something and you were just staring off into space. It's time to land the mother ship for a little while." The blue ninja laughed at his own joke before removing the back of a self-adhesive hook and sticking it to the wall.

He had really zoned out this time. Kai blinked quickly before walking over to Laurie and Lloyd. The two were kneeling over the large box, pulling ornaments out one by one. Laurie was holding a small, circular box shaped like a wreath. She gently lifted the lid off and placed it down next to her. Curious, Kai stood behind the girl. "What's that you've got there?" he asked, feeling a faint wave of heat adorn his cheeks.

Laurie turned around with a smile on her face. "This is a Christmas present from my mom and father" she answered, offering the box to Kai. He took it from the girl's hands and his eyes widened. They were simple ornaments, just glass Christmas balls that seemed to adorn every tree, but they were special. Each ornament was a different color of the shining material with a depiction of their elemental powers. Cautiously, Kai reached for the red ball and picked it up gingerly by the silver, looped string. It seemed to glow in the sunlight, the small flame that adorned the front almost dancing. "Wow" he breathed, "this is awesome."

"You think so?" asked Garmadon, grinning. The red ninja looked up at his former enemy, the man who had kidnapped his sister, and just nodded silently. There was honestly nothing else he could say. Kai was speechless. A thought crossed his mind just then: this was what Rhea felt like all of the time; poor girl. "Well, I'm happy you like it" the aging man finished, turning to pull some silver tinsel out of the open box.

Kai looked back down at the other ornaments. It was just so odd to him that these beautiful items were a gift, a gift from Garmadon no less. There was another red ornament, the hue slightly lighter than Kai's. He picked that one up too and saw that it was for Nya. A golden phoenix was printed on the front, its wings up in a high arc, encircling the body. Kai felt awful now. He had not thought about getting Garmadon anything for Christmas.

There was the pricking sensation, underneath the bracelet. Kai's heart dropped down into his stomach. It had been more than sixteen hours since he had last gotten sick and he thought that maybe it would not happen again. The ice was overwhelming and it took every ounce of strength not to fall to his knees. Kai's grip on the wreath shaped box tightened and he inhaled deeply. No one noticed him panicking. That was just the way he wanted it.

_What nice looking ornaments you have there, ninja._

The red ninja froze as the pressure in his head began to return. It was Skales, he was certain of that now. Maybe if he could ignore the Hypnobrai General he would just go away. Kai stepped over towards the Christmas tree and hung his ornament on one of the middle branches. The red complimented the pine needles and he smiled. It was beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

_You cannot ignore me, young fire starter_ Skales hissed. Kai's body tensed up and he gritted his teeth. This was becoming tedious and annoying. What did Skales even want? Surely he had a nice, dark cave to go decorate with all of his Hypnobrai underlings. _Very funny, but there _is _something I want. All I want for Christmas is to test this new substance I have created. That's unfortunate for you though. Now, why don't you show me how the home is coming along?_

Kai turned away from the tree and scanned the room slowly. Wait, why was he doing that? He did not want to do that. He tried to turn back towards the tree, but he could not. His body was not responding. Fear and adrenaline caused his heart to hammer against his ribs. What was happening to him?

He could hear Skales laughing. _What's wrong, ninja? Not feeling in control? That's too bad…_

How was this possible? Kai's mind was racing. He had not been hypnotized when they were ambushed in the Frozen Wasteland. How was Skales able to manipulate him? Wait, the bracelet! The red ninja glanced down at the band around his right wrist with disdain. Kai could only hear Skales after he was injected and he only felt sick then too. He had to figure out how to get the darn thing off.

"Do you need some help untangling the tinsel, father?" Laurie asked, setting down something in bubble wrap. She grabbed the end of the tinsel that was trailing the wooden floor and wove its way through the middle of a tangled mess. Kai could see Garmadon smiling as his daughter helped him prepare for Christmas. It was nice to see them both getting along.

_Is that Lord Garmadon? _Skales sounded shocked. _Perhaps you can give him a present from me…_

Kai did not like the snake's tone of voice. He felt the muscles in his arms tense up, his grip on the box intensifying. Then, against his will, the red ninja threw the box of glass ornaments at the former Dark Lord.

Lloyd was still kneeling on the ground and he saw the incoming attack. The green ninja managed to lift the lid to the large box and block his father. All of the ornaments shattered as they hit the floor one by one, creating a messy mosaic of colorful glass. Laurie and Garmadon looked at the origin of the sound, eyes wide.

"K-Kai, did you do that?" the orange ninja stuttered, dropping the silver tinsel to the floor. She watched as her boyfriend took in the scene as well, his expression horrified. Laurie slowly approached the broken glass and knelt down next to it. With a shaking hand, she picked up an orange shard. It had a portion of a dusty twister painted on it. A few tears escaped her eyes and she wiped them away with the back of her left hand. "Why did you do that?" she cried.

"He was trying to throw them at dad" Lloyd frowned. "I saw it happen."

Kai was feeling lightheaded and extremely dizzy, the pressure inside of his head leaving slowly. _Curses_ Skales huffed, his voice beginning to fade away. _I still have yet to figure out how to prevent the immune system from combating the venom too quickly. I will be back though, ninja, so don't worry._ Then just like that, the Hypnobrai General was gone.

"You were trying to hit my father?" Laurie growled, dropping the glass in her hand to the floor. She stood, her eyes full of sadness, and walked over towards Kai. "I-I just don't understand what's wrong with you? Why would you do that? _You_ were there when Lloyd defeated the Overlord just like everyone else. All of the others have accepted the fact that my father's good again, but maybe _you_ haven't!" The orange ninja crossed her arms over her chest and sniffed slightly. "I thought if anyone would understand how much it means to me to have my father back in my life it would be you. Maybe I was wrong."

"It wasn't me!" Kai argued, feeling angry. Of course he understood how much Garmadon meant to Laurie. Any sensible person would understand that. "It was Skales! He can control me with the stuff in this bracelet, but only for a little while. H-he just saw Garmadon and then the ornaments…" Kai stopped, noticing how ridiculous the whole thing sounded.

It was a known fact that he had despised Garmadon much more than any of the others. The red ninja was trying to bury the past like the former Dark Lord had, and he thought that he was doing a decent job with it. Skales, though, he probably knew that too. The Hypnobrai General had held animosity towards Garmadon as well. This was the perfect opportunity for revenge on the sidelines. What a scaly coward. "Laurie, I'm so sorry" Kai tried to apologize, but he noticed that the girl he loved was not going to hear of it.

"Can you just leave me alone right now? I kind of want to just be here with my family."

Kai's stomach knotted and he grabbed his ornament off of the tree before leaving the room. There was no need for Laurie to have anymore reminders of the incident that had just occurred.

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**So, yeah, just a little sad. :/**

**Now I'm back to studying about atoms and molecules. Yay! U:**


	7. Not Always, Just Sometimes

**Meh, this chapter is actually kind of short and I'm really sorry about that. Not much plot development or anything either, but I blame that on the fact that I had assignment in Composition where I had to "reflect on reflecting" so mainly everyone is just reflecting in this chapter. XD  
**

**And hooray for sneaking in some foreshadowing towards the final book in my Winds series. :3  
**

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Chapter Seven: Not Always, Just Sometimes

It was difficult, seeing Kai so upset. Rhea was sitting next to the red ninja, her small legs dangling off of the edge of the roof. She had brought him here; a place where she was certain no one would come to look for him. He was gazing down at the city, his legs crossed. A slight breeze was beginning to blow and the purple ninja watched as her friend's frown deepened. She almost wanted to laugh, for this is what she probably looked like to the world on most days. The girl felt a smile coming.

"Is something funny, Rhea?" Kai sighed, his eyes drifting to meet hers. Rhea turned away quickly, feeling slightly embarrassed. No, it was not polite to think of such frivolous things during a time like this. The purple ninja turned back towards Kai and shook her head back and forth, kicking her legs back and forth in the empty air. "Sorry" the red ninja apologized, turning to face the young girl. "It's just, well, you know…"

Yes, she knew indeed. When everything had happened, Rhea had been in her bedroom, laying down on the messy comforter and staring up at the ceiling. The noise of shattering glass had not bothered her; it barely made her move. She had grown up around much worse noises in a harsh environment. Broken glass, that was trivial.

Rhea lowered herself onto her back, resting her head on her now crossed arms. The uneven surface created by the tiled shingles was somewhat painful, but the girl ignored it. Her life had been filled with much worse pain than a sore back or aching muscles. She had tried her best to understand how much the ornament situation had hurt Laurie, but it was hard to sympathize with. The only thing Rhea could attempt to compare the heartache to was losing her parents, but that was almost a completely different subject. Material objects were not flesh and blood relatives. Laurie should not be so upset, right?

"It's the betrayal" Kai said suddenly, breaking the silence. Rhea sat up instantly, her dark brown eyes on the red ninja. What had he just said, 'betrayal'? Kai's eyes widened at Rhea's reaction. "Wow, you were thinking about why this made Laurie upset, weren't you?" A grin spread across his face as he watched the girl nod her head slowly. "Well, it looks like I just figured you out, small fry." This was a breakthrough for the red ninja. He had actually been able to tell what Rhea was thinking. Well, that was something to be proud of at least, considering that everything else was going downhill.

Betrayal, though? That answer did not seem to resonate within the purple ninja. She shrugged her shoulders before assuming the position she had been in prior. Betrayal, she did not really seem to know the meaning of the word. Perhaps sometime in the future she would discover what it meant to feel betrayed or even betray someone; maybe in an alternate universe or something. No, that would most likely never occur.

Kai sighed once more. It figured that the only person he was able to talk with honestly at the moment was the one who did not talk. Life just worked like that. He had never asked her why she did not talk, or even if she could talk, but he always wondered what the reason was behind it. Perhaps he would never know. "You believe me about Skales, right?" he prompted, leaning back on his hands.

The girl nodded, her eyes glued to the sky. Kai looked up as well. The sun was beginning to set and the normally blue sky was turning into a mixture of light oranges and pinks, preparing for the darkness that would consume it soon enough. Each pastel hue was beautiful, separated from one another by the golden rays of fading light the peeked from over the horizon. He wished Laurie would watch this with him, but she was still angry.

Footsteps were audible from behind and the two ninja turned to see Cole standing at the door that led to the roof. "Dinner is ready if you guys want to come down" the black ninja relayed, his eyes looking somewhat lost. He had not been there in the room when the ornaments broke, but Kai was sure that Laurie had already told the leader all about it. The black ornament had been his after all.

"I'm not feeling too hungry right now" Kai lied, turning back towards the sunset. His stomach was still burning slightly from the lack of nourishment it had received in the past twenty-four hours. All the red ninja had had to eat was the single waffle from earlier that morning. "Maybe if there are any leftovers you could put them aside for me?"

There was a hand on Kai's shoulder and the red ninja let out a breath before turning to see Cole. "Look, I know everything is a little tense right now, but it's Christmas Eve. Don't you think you could come have dinner with everyone?" The two looked at each for some time before Kai conceded defeat. He stood and allowed the black ninja to lead him into the house, Rhea following the two close behind.

* * *

Laurie was sitting on her bed, hugging her legs to her chest and resting her chin in between her knee caps. Dinner had been the most awkward experience of her entire life. Kai had taken his normal spot at the dining room table right next to Laurie and neither of them had said a word to the other. The tension in the room had been so palpable even Jay had refrained from starting up a conversation. There came a knock at the door and the orange ninja collapsed on the bedspread, letting out a long sigh. "Come in" she answered in a tired voice.

Garmadon pushed open the door slowly, poking his head around the corner before entering the room entirely. He closed the door once more, softly. "Hey, Laurie" the man said, pulling a chair from the girl's desk and placing it next to her bed. The former Dark Lord took a seat before continuing. "You don't seem to be in the best mood right now. Do you want to talk about what's bothering you?"

Great, she finally gets her father back from the clutches of evil and he wants to talk about her feelings. Laurie inhaled deeply, throwing her right arm over her freckled face. "Honestly, father, I really don't want to talk about anything. I'd rather just be alone right now."

"I know that's not true" Garmadon answered, smiling. "You don't want to be _alone_, alone. You want to be alone with that boy of yours." He visibly watched his daughter tense up and he let out a small laugh. "I knew it" Laurie's father continued, crossing his arms over his chest. "I was young once too and I know what it's like to be in love. The easiest solution to what's bugging you is to forgive him."

Forgive Kai? Well, yes Laurie was going to forgive him eventually, but right now she did not know if that was what she should do. Kai had been so reckless and idiotic. Why had he acted like that?

_"It wasn't me! It was Skales!"_

Could Kai really have been telling the truth? Laurie had initially written this off as an excuse and a poor one at that. They had talked about their relationship and how awkward it initially was for Kai to see a spark between himself and the daughter of his greatest enemy. Differences had sorted themselves out and now here they were, happy together. Well, they were not specifically happy at this particular moment in time. "The ornaments though" the orange ninja huffed, still slightly agitated about the situation. "He broke them all."

She could hear the wooden chair creak slightly as her father leaned forward. There was a reassuring hand on Laurie's shoulder and she removed her arm from over top of her face, meeting his eyes. "Honey, there are things in this life that are more important than material objects. We can always buy new ornaments, but you can't buy someone else that cares for you as much as Kai does." Garmadon grinned when he saw his daughter's eyes widen. "That's right, I watch him. I see the way he looks at you. I remember him telling me once that he would always keep an eye on me. Well, now it's the other way around."

Laurie gave a slight chuckle, getting into a sitting position. "This doesn't mean you're always going to follow me on dates and stuff, right?" she asked jokingly.

The former Dark Lord gave a serious face. "Not always, just sometimes." Then he cracked a large smile and watched as his daughter visibly relaxed. "I can't believe you actually believed that! No go find Kai and tell him you're sorry."

"Thanks, _dad_" the orange ninja choked, trying not to cry. She gave her father a quick embrace before scurrying from the room, happy that the one word that had eluded her vocabulary for so long decided to return.

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**I promise that the next chapter will be longer and a lot more interesting than this one. Sorry about that. :/**


	8. I Wasn't Sleeping!

**This is the longest chapter yet! Woo-hoo!**

**Okay, so I had a really, ****_really _****hard time starting this chapter off, and then about three pages in it just clicked and I kind of went into a writing trance and then stopped when I figured out I had written five and half more pages. So glad I got this chapter together because I really wanted to update today. I hope you like it because I do! :D**

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Chapter Eight: I Wasn't Sleeping!

Laurie was sitting next to Kai on the sofa in the living room; her head nestled in between the crook of his arm and chest. The lights in the room were dimmed low and the two sat silently, watching as the tinsel and ornaments on the tree sparkled. "It's still really pretty" the orange ninja breathed, closing her eyes. She could hear Kai's heartbeat thumping rhythmically. "Again, I'm sorry for earlier" she apologized. "I overreacted".

The girl felt Kai wrap his left arm around her shoulders, placing a hand on her forearm. "Why should you be sorry?" he asked softly. "I broke the presents from your parents, I shattered them into pieces. _I_ should be the one apologizing." The red ninja titled his head downwards and saw Laurie gazing up at him, her eyes smiling.

"Kai, you already apologized earlier. Right after the ornaments broke, I heard you." Laurie watched as Kai's eyes widened in disbelief. Of course she had heard her boyfriend apologize. She just had not acknowledged it at that time due to her temper. "You know, there was something else that I heard you say too" the orange ninja continued, her expression becoming somewhat somber. Kai shifted awkwardly under Laurie's gaze, waiting for her to finish her thoughts.

"I remember you saying that Skales did it. _He_ threw the ornaments at my father". Laurie mentally cursed herself for allowing that detestable word to slip out once more. Garmadon was her _dad_, more than just a father. The teenager took in a deep breath and bit her bottom lip. "What I'm trying to ask is if that was the truth? Was it really Skales that did it?"

The red ninja relaxed and gave a small smile. Now he could tell Laurie everything without having to feel like she did not believe him. Maybe Kai should have just gone to confide in her when Skales initially began the tyranny in his head. "Yeah" he replied curtly. There was nothing but trust in Laurie's eyes and Kai decided to continue with his story. "He can control me, but only for a little while. I think it has to do with the stuff in the bracelet."

Laurie felt even worse now for jumping to such harsh conclusions. Poor Kai, he must have felt awful already for breaking the ornaments, but the fact that he could not even control what he was doing… "I'm really sorry, Kai" the girl apologized once more, burying her head into the red ninja's chest in an attempt to hide the salty tears that were welling up quickly. "I promise we're gonna find a way to get that thing off of you."

Kai used his left arm and pushed Laurie closer to him. He felt happy, no, the right word was probably joyful. Everything had sorted itself out rather quickly and he could not have been more grateful. Honestly, the red ninja assumed that he would have to spend his first Christmas with Laurie avoiding her. Now that was not the case. "Thanks" he whispered back, gently cupping the back of the orange ninja's head with his right hand.

The liquid inside of his bracelet seemed to emanate a sapphire glow in the soft, white lights of the Christmas tree. He gave a small sigh, noticing that the amount inside was only down halfway. Hopefully he would not have to deal with Skales for the rest of the night or even tomorrow. With a nervous fluttering in his stomach, Kai turned his gaze towards the digital clock that sat on the television stand. It was midnight.

"Merry Christmas, Laurie" he smiled, giving the teenager a small peck on the top of her head. She did not respond to this, so the red ninja gently shook her left shoulder.

Laurie bolted upwards, her head nearly colliding with Kai's chin in the process. "W-what's going on?"she inquired groggily. Her ice blue eyes were half closed and drooping steadily. Then she saw Kai, giving her the slightest of smirks and attempting not to laugh. "I-I wasn't sleeping" Laurie tried to argue, rubbing her right eye with the back of her hand. "I was _pretending_ to sleep in case you were wondering."

"Well, you sure fooled me" the red ninja chuckled, watching as the girl he loved shifted to sit beside him. She rested her elbow on the arm of the black sofa and rested her head on it. "I was just telling you 'Merry Christmas' was all. It's a little after midnight so it's technically Christmas now." Kai threw his left arm over the girl's shoulders.

It could not have been past midnight, could it? Laurie looked at the clock near the television set and saw that Kai was telling the truth. "Well then, I guess we should go to bed. We don't want to stay awake too long and scare Santa away" the orange ninja smiled before standing and stretching. Her back was aching slightly, the muscles tired and sore. Yes, it was definitely time for some sleep. She was pulled into a tight embrace before she felt Kai's lips on her own.

The kiss was short and the two pulled away quickly, Laurie's cheeks having a dusting of blush. "Well, good night, Kai" she said quickly before heading off in the direction of the room that she shared with both Nya and Rhea. Kai gave a soft chuckle. He liked that Laurie was still a little nervous around him sometimes. It was just something he liked about her. The red ninja turned in the opposite direction, towards the training room, and headed down the nearest hallway.

A door sat slightly ajar and Kai pushed it open to see his brothers all fast asleep. Quietly, he made his way over to the small chest of oak drawers that sat adjacent to his bed. Within minutes he was dressed in a pair of pajamas and underneath the sheets.

The temperature of the fabric was very cold against Kai's skin, almost like ice. He shivered slightly, pulling the sheets up to his chin in protest. Why was he so cold all of a sudden? It had not been this cold when he initially entered the room. With weary eyes, he gazed around the room and looked at his brothers. They did not seem to be shivering in their sleep. None of them seemed to be effected at all. Why just him? Frustrated, Kai closed his eyes tightly and tried to fall asleep.

_There's no time for that, ninja_ Skales hissed. _It's Christmas morning and there are other things you should be doing…_

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Footsteps, she could hear footsteps on the hard wood floor. Rhea opened her eyes slowly, letting them adjust to the encroaching darkness of night. Laurie must have closed the curtains when she came in for bed. The young girl could see the faint light of the moon attempting to make its presence known through the thick, dark blue material. Sitting up, Rhea threw the covers off of herself and dangled both legs over the side of the bed.

Nothing, but silence answered her.

Frowning, the girl hopped off of the bed and landed lightly on the floor. With a nervous glance, she scanned the room to make sure she had not disturbed either of her roommates. Both Laurie and Nya slept soundly. Letting out a small breath, the purple ninja made her way towards the door and opened it slowly.

The hallway outside of the bedroom was empty, but she was positive that she had heard someone walking around. Perhaps it was only a dream. Shrugging, Rhea went to close the door once more, but the footsteps started again. She froze, hand on the doorknob. Where was the sound coming from? With curiosity getting the better of the twelve year old, Rhea stepped out into the barren hallway and shut the wooden door behind her.

A dark shadow was cast upon the wall opposite Rhea and her eyes widened. She could not tell who, or what it was, but the figure disappeared as quickly as it had come. The girl's heart seemed to cease beating as she thought of one specific individual that the shadow could have belonged to. That was ridiculous though. It could not belong to _him_ for he had been defeated in battle. Hearing the footsteps growing fainter, Rhea quickened her pace.

She entered the living room and was surprised to see an individual in a red outfit disappear through the front door. Wait, had that been _Santa_? Intrigued by the notion, Rhea ran to the front door and threw it open. Once more, nothing but an empty hallway greeted her. Maybe that had been Santa and he had disappeared because she was trying to follow him. What if he did not come back next year because she was too curious? Rhea's eyes widened at the very thought and she closed the door quickly before backing away. She should probably just go back to bed. With her heart beating fast from the Santa encounter, the young girl turned around, prepared to make the short walk back to her bedroom.

There was a faint glow coming from outside, Rhea could barely see it. Silently, the purple ninja crept to the floor to ceiling window that made up the back wall of the living room. You could see blocks upon blocks of Ninjago City from here. At night the view was spectacular with the glittering neon signs at eye level and the fading stars above. Rhea pressed her nose hard against the glass in an attempt to look downwards at the source of the light.

Kai was standing in the street, his Elemental Sword in hand. He was burning something, a fire springing to life quickly directly in front of him. What was he doing outside so late? Wait, what was he even doing at all? Squinting, Rhea attempted to make out what was being engulfed quickly in the flames. Her heart sank as realization slowly began to dawn on her. No, it could not be what she thought it was. Quickly, the young girl turned to face the inside of the living room and her breath caught.

The Christmas tree was gone.

She turned back to the window, her eyes wide. Kai was burning their Christmas tree! Why would he do something like that? It was Christmas Day and everyone was expecting to find presents underneath of the lush green branches when they awoke in the morning. With all of these irrational thoughts clouding her judgment she took in a deep breath. That was when Rhea remembered the conversation that she and Kai had shared on the roof. Skales was able to control him.

A scowl replaced the expression of shock; that no good Serpentine was _not_ going to ruin Christmas for any of them. With rage welling up inside of her small body, Rhea headed for the front door and took the steps down from the penthouse two at a time. Within minutes she was down in the lobby of the apartment building. Luckily the lazy security attendant was not awake to see what Kai was doing right now.

As the young girl pushed open the double glass doors she was hit by the cold chill of night and the acrid smell of smoke. She coughed slightly, holding her forearm over her nose and mouth to prevent any inhalation of the air pollution. A large, continuous cloud of smoke rose slowly into the sky, twisting and turning along its journey. Rhea approached Kai quickly, her bare feet freezing on the asphalt, and tugged on the back of his shirt.

Kai felt someone behind him, pulling on his pajamas, but he could not turn around to see who it was. The blade in his hand was warm and comforting, but he did not like what it was being used for. If Laurie had gotten so upset over ornaments, she would most likely raise Belinda from the Underworld to come get him when she found out he had destroyed the tree. Continuing to fight for control over his own actions was exhausting, not to mention a losing battle. There was still that person behind him too.

_Who is pestering me? _Skales sounded extremely annoyed at the individual standing behind Kai. The red ninja liked this and he would have smirked if he was able to. _Turn around and see who it is_ the Hypnobrai General demanded.

Turning on his heel, Kai saw a familiar person standing in front of him. It was Rhea, her dark brown eyes narrowed slightly. She seemed so angry it was almost frightening. Maybe Laurie was not the only one he had to worry about. The light from the fire behind him cast strange shadows across the girl's face, yet she never moved. Then, suddenly, Rhea stepped forward and used both hands to grab the bracelet around his wrist.

Kai felt a wave of reassurance wash over him. Rhea was not angry with him. No, she was furious at Skales. The red ninja just watched as the purple ninja attempted to pry the bracelet off with nothing but her thin fingers. _Insolent child, _Skales growled. _She knows about your predicament, doesn't she? No matter, you can take care of her…_

Rhea's fingers were beginning to go numb, both from the cold and pulling. It had been a poor choice to just try and take the thing off by force. It was stuck on Kai's wrist tightly. She gazed at his eyes, wide and full of fear. Why did he look so scared right now? Then, her friend brought his Elemental Sword down in a high arc.

Quickly, Rhea attempted to side step the attack, but the edge of the blade caught her left arm. The sleeve of her lavender pajamas ripped and singed, revealing the slowly bleeding cut underneath. The skin around the wound was red and hot from the fire. Curse these destined ninja and their special powers. She had decided to become a ninja the old fashioned way, with nothing but perseverance and training. Instinctively, Rhea reached up to grab the karambits out of her hair.

They were not there.

A chill engulfed her body and the young girl froze. She had been sleeping before she decided to investigate the mysterious footsteps. Of course she had not taken the time to equip herself with her weapons. Rhea looked at Kai who was running towards her again, sword outstretched. How was she going to fight him with nothing? Well, she would have to try.

Rhea plastered herself to the cold ground as Kai horizontally swung his sword at her abdomen. He effectively missed and the purple ninja rolled away to safety. The combination of moving quickly and fear was making her feel weak. How much longer would she be able to keep this up? She was utterly exhausted and not prepared to be engaged in combat. Rhea lay in the middle of the street, propped up on her elbows, trying to catch her breath.

This was bad! Kai was really fighting now, trying to stop himself from attacking Rhea. Why was it taking so long for his immune system to fight the venom? When he had broken the ornaments Skales had only been there for a few minutes. Why was he still here now? Kai saw the young girl lying down in the street and he charged at her.

_Did_ _you not notice the trinket, ninja? _Skales almost sounded amused at Kai's bewilderment. _Almost all of the liquid inside is gone now. You have much more of the venom in your body right now. I can control you longer._

He had not noticed the amount of liquid in the gem decrease so drastically. This was frustrating! He had to be able to get a hold of himself somehow! With an unnecessary growl escaping his lips, Kai lunged at Rhea, defenseless in front of him. She lifted her legs up in the air, anticipating the attack. This was good, if she could flip him over the top of her she may have enough time to run inside and get the others. Kai's abdomen met the young girl's bare feet.

Rhea heard the reverberating crack of her ankle before she felt it.

Pain shot through her right leg almost instantaneously. The purple ninja bit her bottom lip and squeezed her eyes shut tightly. This had not gone as planned. She was just trying to use Kai's momentum against him, by flipping him over top of her with her legs. Rhea had done it so many other times before, during training and even during actual combat. Never had it ended like this. The pain was dulling now, being quelled by the combination of shock and adrenaline. Kai had fallen off to her left and he lay in the street.

The purple ninja took in several shallow breaths, trying to calm her frazzled nerves. Was her ankle really broken though? Maybe it was just a bad sprain. She attempted to move it and felt a sharp pain radiate outwards along the muscles. No, it was most definitely broken. Opening her eyes, Rhea sat up slowly, using her abdominal muscles only to try and keep the lower half of her body as still as possible. Her right foot seemed to lay limp on the ground in front of it. How was she going to get back inside for treatment? The bone would need to be set before it began healing at an awkward angle.

A rough hand grabbed the collar of her pajama top and lifted her into the air. Without the support of the solid ground, Rhea's ankle began to throb and ache. The adrenaline was wearing off now, the pain beginning to return. She did not need to turn around to know that it was Kai who had her. The purple ninja was just happy that she was still conscious at this moment in time. Every nerve in her body was screaming, especially the entirety of her right leg. It was consuming the young girl, clouding her brain. Then everything went black.

Kai was absolutely terrified. He had heard the snap of something when he jumped at Rhea. Had that been a bone? Did he break her leg or something? The red ninja was holding the girl now and then he suddenly felt her go limp. _Seems she's unconscious now_, Skales laughed. _You might as well bring her with you. You need to come and get a refill anyways. Maybe I'll have a gift for the young, silent one when you arrive…_

When he arrived? Where was he going? Kai sheathed his blade with is free hand before cradling Rhea in both. Her head fell back over his right arm, the color of her light blue hair contrasted greatly against the dark sapphire colored gem on his wrist. Where he was walking to, he was not sure, but Kai knew that he had just roped one more person into danger.

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**So, what did you think? Like it? Hate it? Please let me know!**

**Also, I saw some people voted in a poll that I have on my profile and I really appreciate your input. I already have a somewhat idea of the plot that I want to do for the category that is currently winning. I may need some help with it though. If you're willing to let me bounce some ideas off of you I would really appreciate it. Please PM if you want to. :)**

**Thanks for reading, reviewing, faving, and everything! I honestly didn't think this story would be as big as it is right now, considering it's just based off of a random dream that I had.**


	9. Well, Right After We Change First

**Yay, finished another chapter! Unfortunately this one is also kind of boring, but it's a decent length. Of course that means it's going to be long ****_and_**** boring. Well at least you get to find out how everyone reacts to the tree being gone. Please enjoy.**

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Chapter Nine: Well, Right After We Change First

"Where in Ninjago could the tree have gone?" yelled Lloyd, obviously frustrated. He stood in the middle of the living room, his arms crossed tightly over his chest. There were a few lone presents that sat in the corner where the Douglas-fir once stood. Scattered through the entirety of the room were pine needles and bits that had fallen off of the silver tinsel. The green ninja was absolutely flabbergasted at the sight before him. "I mean, it couldn't have just decided to sprout legs and walk, now could it?"

Jay poked his head out of the training room, sleep still in his eyes. "Would you mind calming down just a little bit, Lloyd? You kind of woke everyone up." The blue ninja gave a long yawn and entered the living room, flopping down on the sofa. Cole and Zane came in soon after, still in their pajamas as well.

"Um…where'd the Christmas tree go?" asked Cole, somewhat startled at its disappearance. The black ninja stood next to Lloyd, who was still seething, and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Do you know where the tree went to, Lloyd?"

Lloyd narrowed his eyes, frowning. "No I don't know where the tree went!" he exclaimed, shrugging his leader's hand off of his shoulder. "Do you think I would be looking for the tree if I knew where it was?" He threw his hands into the air, frustrated. Seriously, where could the tree have gone? Maybe his mom or dad had moved it into another room? No, that was ridiculous. Why would they have moved it if it was already in the living room? This was the central room of the house!

"Seriously, Lloyd, can you keep it down?" Jay asked once more, his tone slightly whiny. He opened his dark hazel eyes and noticed a barren spot in the room. "Hey, where'd the tree go?" the blue ninja inquired suddenly, his eyes wide. "I mean, the tree was just there yesterday and now it's not there at all!"

The green ninja held his face in his hands. Honestly, sometimes Jay just did not get it. "That's what I've been saying" Lloyd said tiredly, his tone slow. "Do you remember when you first told me to be quiet? _This_ is what I was being loud about." He turned to pace the floor and nearly bumped into his sister. "Woah, I didn't know you were awake."

"You woke me up with your voice" the orange ninja stated plainly. The left sleeve of her nightshirt was beginning to fall off of the shoulder. Laurie looked completely disheveled, as if she had literally dragged herself out of bed. "Actually you woke _us_ up with your voice" the teenager continued, gesturing towards Nya who slowly made her way out of the girls' bedroom. "So, can you tell me what all of the fuss is about?"

What was all the fuss about? Had everyone suddenly become sight impaired? "I don't know, maybe just the fact that _our Christmas tree is gone_!" Lloyd stressed. He took in a deep breath, attempting to calm down.

The tree was gone? Laurie let her eyes drift to the corner of the room. Lloyd was right; there was absolutely nothing there aside from a few presents. Where could the tree have gone? "So no one knows where the tree went?" she asked, feeling a little dazed. Christmas trees did not just disappear overnight. Santa _gave _presents and did not _steal_ trees.

"I do not know the current whereabouts of the Christmas tree, but I do believe that I have found something rather odd outside" Zane said, a frown on his face. The white ninja was standing near the large glass window at the back of the living room. Everyone gathered around quickly to see what the nindroid was referring to.

On the lightly colored asphalt, faded from continued exposure to the sun, was a dark black scorch mark.

Laurie squinted against the rising sun to try and determine exactly what she was staring at. "Could that be, like, oil from a car that happened to break down in front of our building last night?" she gave a small laugh, noticing that no one else thought it was very funny.

"No, it's not oil" Nya replied, crossing her arms. "Something was definitely burned down there."

Burned? What could possibly have burned in a designated area in front of their apartment building? It was no secret that they, the ninja who had saved Ninjago from the Overlord, lived here in the penthouse. Was someone trying to be funny? Laurie frowned and bit her bottom lip. "Do you think we should go check it out?"

Without another word, everyone nodded and proceeded to exit the building quickly. Within minutes they all stood in the street. They probably looked extremely awkward; six individuals standing bare foot in the street clothed in pajamas. It was very early in the morning though and not many people were meandering down the streets.

"Can you tell what was burned, Zane?" Jay asked, his scarred eyebrow arched slightly.

The nindroid shook his head solemnly. "Unfortunately, I cannot. My sensors do not detect anything that could aid me in correctly identifying the object that was burned." Zane stared at the scorch mark on the asphalt for a little while longer before sighing. "Sorry that I cannot be of much use at the moment."

"No, don't worry about it, Zane" Laurie answered, her focus seemingly miles away. She knelt down on the street, intensely staring at the mess in front of her. There were bits of silver, flecks was probably the proper term, riddled throughout the debris. Each of the small slivers caught the rising sun and glittered brilliantly. It reminded the orange ninja of the tinsel, sparkling when the lights of the Christmas tree were on last night.

Wait a second…

Laurie gasped and stood up quickly, scaring practically everyone. Lloyd was the first one over to her, his hand on her forearm. "Hey, sis, what's wrong? Is everything okay?" He watched as Laurie cupped both of her hands around her nose and mouth. What was going on? "Laurie, you have to tell us what's wrong" the green ninja demanded, feeling somewhat lost.

"This is our Christmas tree" she replied, her voice slightly muffled by her hands. "This burnt mess is our Christmas tree. You can see some of the tinsel in the debris." Despite this realization, the orange ninja was not as upset as she thought she would be. No, Laurie was worried more than anything else. The tree had been _burned_ after all. "Where's Kai?" she suddenly inquired, her voice shaking. "Has anyone seen him?"

Cole contemplated this for a second. "Now that you mention it, I haven't seen him. He was already gone this morning when Lloyd woke us up. I just assumed that he was somewhere in the house." He looked towards his brothers who just nodded in agreement. So no one had seen Kai this morning. "Wait" the black ninja started, his brown eyes wide, "you don't think…"

The orange ninja took her hands away from her mouth, her expression one of pure shock. Laurie nodded slowly, her heart feeling constricted in her chest. "Yes, I _do_ think he was the one who did it."

"Why though? Why would Kai just burn down the tree?" Jay stressed. Sure, the red ninja was a hot-head and very impulsive, but he would not just take their Christmas tree and burn it to the ground. That was not like him. "It just doesn't seem like something Kai would do, you know?"

No, it did not seem like Kai. Unfortunately, there was someone else who could make it seem like Kai. "Skales" Laurie answered plainly, rubbing her left arm with her right hand awkwardly. "What if I told you guys it was actually Skales who burned the tree?" Her voice went up an octave higher at the end of her proposed question. She did not know if Kai had told everyone or not, but now the entirety of the group had to know about his predicament.

"How could Skales have burned down the tree?" Zane questioned. "I do not see how he could have sneaked inside the home last night and gotten a hold of it. Besides, I believe you had just said previously that it was, indeed, Kai who had burned the tree." The nindroid was confused. Laurie did not seem to be making any sense right now.

Well, it was now or never. "That thing on Kai's wrist, it allows Skales to control him for a little while. He never really explained to me how it worked, but I think it has something to do with the liquid inside." Laurie watched as everyone's eyes widened, including Nya's. "Wait, so he never told any of you about this?" the orange ninja asked skeptically. Surely she was not the only one that Kai had confided in.

"This is all new to me" the leader replied, his bushy eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "I wonder why he never told any of _us_ about that." Cole crossed his arms over his chest, slightly disappointed in the lack of confidence that Kai obviously had in the team. "The liquid, how do you know that has something to with it?"

"Well, when Kai started feeling sick the night we got back from the Frozen Wasteland Rhea pointed it out to me…" but Laurie allowed her sentence to slightly trail off. Something was not right. The hair on the back of her neck seemed to stand on end and she felt slightly clammy. "Has anyone seen Rhea? She wasn't in our room when Nya and I woke up this morning."

The others looked around, waiting for someone else to answer. It seemed that no one had seen the young girl either. Laurie felt stomach twist in on itself, but then there was a hand on her right shoulder. It was Nya and she gave a warm smile. "I'm sure that she was just in the training room like she usually is" the samurai said, attempting to reassure her friend.

"Um…Nya?" the blue ninja piped in, laughing nervously. "Funny story about that, but we have to go through the training room to get from our bedroom into the living room. Yeah, Rhea wasn't in there this morning…"

This was not good, not at all. First Kai burned down the tree and then both he and Rhea are missing. "We have to go find them!" Laurie blurted out. She was having a panic attack. This was absolutely insane! "We have to go look for them as soon as possible!" The orange ninja turned around and ran back inside the lobby of the apartment. Never had the penthouse felt so far away. She could hear the hurried footsteps of the others behind her. With one swift motion, Laurie opened the door to the Hero's Suite and practically fell inside.

"Merry Christmas!" came a chorus of voices. Sensei Wu, Garmadon, Misako, and Dr. Julien all stood in the middle of the room.

Laurie looked at the four individuals standing in front of her, their faces dropping slowly as the others poured into the apartment behind her. "Yeah, um, Merry Christmas to you guys too." She took in a deep breath, trying to calm down. Laurie's heart was palpating roughly in her chest.

"Hey" Garmadon said suddenly, his gaze falling upon the corner of the room. "Where's the Christmas tree? It couldn't have just walked away…"

Now even Lloyd was becoming annoyed at everyone asking where the tree was. "It's gone, Kai burned it" he stated, shrugging his shoulders. The green ninja should have anticipated the looks of disbelief on everyone's faces, but he did not. "Well, it's not like that" Lloyd started nervously. "It seems like Kai didn't _mean_ to burn it down, but he did it anyways…" Okay, he was not helping the situation at all.

"What Lloyd is trying to say is that something's wrong with Kai, he can't control himself, and both he and Rhea are currently missing." Laurie watched as her explanation held no meaning what so ever. "Long story short, we're going to go look for Kai and Rhea, okay?" The orange ninja looked down at her pajamas and blushed slightly. "Well, right after we change first."

* * *

Her body felt so heavy and tired, but Rhea opened her eyes anyways. Everything was dark so she could not be certain of where she currently was. The young girl was so exhausted; she tried to rub the sleep from her eyes. Rhea could not move her hands. They were bound tightly behind her back with rope. Much to the purple ninja's chagrin, her feet were in the same position. That was not going to be good for her broken ankle.

"Thank goodness you're finally awake".

Rhea shifted slightly, turning her head to see Kai sitting down with his back against a wall. Where were they? It was difficult to see the red ninja, but she recognized the voice. With great difficult and pain, the girl inched her way over towards her friend. Her eyes were quickly adjusting to the lack of light and she noticed that he was in the same position she was. There was something missing though. The bracelet was no longer on his wrist. Seriously, what was going on?

"We're in a cave somewhere in the Mountain of a Million Steps. It's not the Constrictai Tomb, but it's a really large cave system" Kai sighed. He gazed at the small girl and felt his heart stop. "I'm really sorry for everything I did to you back in Ninjago City. I couldn't control myself." This seemed to illicit no response from Rhea and the red ninja just stopped talking.

Constrictai Tomb? So there was more than just one type of Serpentine. Rhea decided to pocket this information for future references. She was trying to figure out how to ask Kai about the bracelet. It was, in fact, gone; she could tell. Just then there was a flash of light and Rhea closed her eyes tightly.

"Good then, everyone's awake" Skales laughed, a flashlight in his hand. "I just wanted to make sure you were doing alright. The party will be starting soon enough and we're anticipating our guests' arrival shortly." With that, the serpent clicked the flashlight off and disappeared into the palpable darkness.

A party, with guests? Rhea doubted that Skales was actually kind enough to throw a party for her and Kai. She looked back over towards the red ninja, hoping for any sort of answer to their current situation. He noticed her staring and suddenly started talking.

"It's a trap, obviously" he explained solemnly. "Everyone else is bound to notice that we're gone and they'll come looking for us. It's just another ambush."

So she had been correct: there was not going to be an actual party. Rhea let out a small breath and inched closer to Kai, leaning her head on his shoulder. Her long hair was draped over her shoulders, something the purple ninja disliked very much. It almost felt as if it were choking her. Well, there was nothing she could do about now. There was nothing she could really do about anything.

The only thing Kai and Rhea could do was sit and wait.

* * *

**Cliffhangers, I live off of them. I seriously think I do.**

**Thanks for reading and reviewing and everything. I always appreciate it. :)**


	10. The Buddy System is Important

**Hey everyone! Sorry about the lack of updating in the past week. Winter break started for me on Tuesday and I've just been spending a lot of time with my family because I missed them so much. So here's another new chapter and I hope you enjoy it. I also hope that everyone is having a good holiday season. :)**

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Chapter Ten: The Buddy System is Important

The world below was flying by so quickly; the colors of the landscape blending together, almost indiscernible from one another. However, one shade was more prominent than the others: white. The pine trees down below seemed to swirl with the soft blue color of the winding tributaries, frozen solid by the harsh winter conditions. In between all of this was the pure white of the perpetually falling snow. Was there ever a time where the Frozen Wasteland was not covered in a blanket of white?

"Do we even know what we're looking for?" Laurie attempted to call out over the roaring of the wind and the incessant flapping off the Ultra Dragon's beating wings. "I mean, I don't know exactly where the Hypnobrai Tomb is located. Do you guys know?" The red-head had her heavy coat buttoned up all the way and continued to pull the insulated material upward, attempting to shield her mouth and nose from the nip of the frigid weather.

Zane turned his head to the right, gazing at the orange ninja with his peripheral vision. "Actually _we_ do not know exactly where the Tomb is located, for none of us have ever been there." He watched with an emotionless face as Laurie's eyes widened with shock. Then the nindroid realized she did not understand what he was trying to say. "Oh, my apologies for confusing you" the white ninja continued, his voice rose in order to be heard. "_We_ do not know where the Hypnobrai Tomb is, but _Lloyd_ knows of the exact location."

The dragon began to descend quickly and Laurie gripped Zane's shoulders fiercely. Her stomach felt weightless which caused a wave of nausea to overwhelm her. Breathing heavily, she closed her eyes tightly. There was a gentle hand on Laurie's back and she tried to focus on it, the slight pressure and reassurance that it gave her. The orange ninja felt the Ultra Dragon's altitude level off and she cautiously opened her ice blue eyes.

"Are you alright, Laurie?" asked a voice from behind her. Laurie cocked her head slightly to the left, realizing that it was Nya who was concerned. She had completely forgotten that the samurai was sitting behind her. Honestly, there was not enough room on this reptile for all of them to sit comfortably.

With a heavy sigh to calm her racing heart, the orange ninja slowly nodded her head. "Yeah, Nya, I'm fine" she answered. "Thanks for that." The hand on her back was removed and Laurie felt tension in her shoulders dissipate. How long had she been tensed up like that? She was not sure. This whole situation was making Laurie nervous and anxious; the sooner that they were able to locate and recover Rhea and Kai, the better.

Once more the flying creature began to descend, but this time it was slower. Laurie could feel the chill of the air becoming less intense. It was true that the altitude did make a difference. Within minutes the Ultra Dragon landed on a cliff, the edge jutting out precariously. Happy to be back on solid ground, the orange ninja swung her left leg over the dragon's lower back before sliding off. Her feet hit the compacted snow hard, slightly jarring the bones from her ankles to her knees.

The others followed suit, dismounting the winged creature. Lloyd lay the reigns down gently, the metal chains resting just above the dragon's neck. Smiling, he gave the creature a few pats on the back before sliding off into the snow. "Thanks boy" the green ninja called out, adjusting the black gloves that adorned his hands. "Well, thanks _boys_" he corrected, accounting for each dragon. It was not fair for them to be grouped as a single entity considering they used to be four separate dragons. Lloyd watched as Rocky gave him a crooked grin before he went to join his friends.

"So this is where the Tomb is?" Jay asked, his arms crossed over his chest. The clearing was obvious, every crevice in the ground filled with snow and ice. With a slight smirk, the blue ninja gazed at the surroundings with hazel eyes. "I wouldn't really say it's cozy or a great place to live, but the Hypnobrai really didn't have a choice in that matter, did they?" Jay gave a small chuckle as he kicked some nearby snow with the toe of his boot.

Laurie concurred with Jay. This _was_ a terrible place to be locked away for ages. For the quickest of seconds, the orange ninja almost felt sorry for the Hypnobrai; almost. She dismissed the thought immediately, remembering that they were in this mess due to those same serpents. They deserved to spend an eternity imprisoned within the confines of the tomb that lay before her, especially Skales. "So how do we get inside?" Laurie inquired, giving a sigh.

The green ninja's face fell before he remembered that no one else had ever ventured inside the Hypnobrai Tomb. "Oh yeah" Lloyd laughed, crossing over the swirling patterns on the ground. Pebbles and sleet crunched underneath of his boots. A small golden statue of a snake lay near the black ninja. "Hey, Cole, can you push that statuette?"

Raising a bushy eyebrow, the Ninja of Earth grasped the head of the small serpent with his right hand and pushed. The entire object titled backwards slightly, the fangs protruding from the snake's mouth reflecting a stray ray of sunshine that had escaped the barrier of gray clouds. Seemingly unimpressed by this action, Cole narrowed his eyes. Was something supposed to be happening?

Suddenly, the ground began to quiver and shake. Caught off guard, the leader widened his stance in order to keep his balance. He noticed the shocked expression of everyone excluding Lloyd. Well at least they seemed just as taken aback as he did. The carved designs on the ground began to move apart as the ground did; the jaw of the crudely drawn serpent on the ground began to drop. A faint cloud of green smoke rose from the dark abyss, curling its way into the icy wind before dissipating entirely. Taking in a deep breath, Cole tightened the grip he had on his scythe.

Seconds seem to take forever to pass and Laurie held her bō staff horizontally in both hands. She expected an army of scouts to come springing out of the Hypnobrai Tomb, anticipating their arrival. Much to her surprise, nothing of the sort happened. Cautiously, the orange ninja approached the edge of the ground and knelt down against the chilled rock. "Kai, can you hear me?" she called down into the darkness. Visibility was awful and all Laurie could make out were some crystalline structures a little way down. Her voice echoed off of the walls, but no one else responded. Frowning, Laurie stood up and brushed the snow off of her pants. "So how do we get down there?"

With a playful smirk twisting at the edge of his lips, Lloyd slowly approached his sister. He placed a hand on Laurie's shoulder. "I don't really remember how to get inside…" the green ninja trailed off, giving the teenager a slight push. Lloyd felt Laurie tense up and she fought for any sort of balance. Then she tumbled forward into the darkness, her frightened cries still audible after she had disappeared.

Cole was the first person to approach Lloyd, his expression stern. "What were you thinking?" he growled between clenched teeth, obviously upset by the event that just unfolded.

"Relax" Lloyd reassured him, laughing slightly. "That was how I got in the first time so I thought it would be funny for my sister to experience it the same way." The longer than green ninja stared at Cole the less he thought his practical joke was actually funny. "Look, it's not the far down and she should be fine. We'll just jump in after her."

The white ninja spoke from the opposite side of the large hole in the ground. "That was not very smart, Lloyd" he chastised, shurikens in both of his hands. "What if the Hypnobrai were down below and have Laurie now as well?"

Lloyd's heart seemed to skip a beat. He had not thought of that at all. Without a moment's hesitation, the blonde haired boy jumped down into the darkness. The fall was much shorter than he had remembered, but then again he was much taller this time around. Lloyd's back hit a rock that was jutting out awkwardly from the wall. He sucked in a breath before the ground rose to meet him. The green ninja landed on his stomach, elbows making contact with the hard ice. "Ow" he complained, getting into a kneeling position. "Oh wow, I hit my funny bone. My left elbow is all tingly…"

"It isn't so funny, is it?" asked a harsh voice. The green ninja gazed at his sister who stood directly in front of him. Laurie seemed extremely angry, her ice blue eyes practically glowing in the lack of light. "Pushing your sister down into a _hole_ isn't so funny either!" she finished, using her bō staff to hit him on his right shoulder.

"Let's stop it with the sibling rivalry" Cole sighed, trying to keep his footing on the sloping staircase that Lloyd had failed to see. Hopping over one of the final large rocks, the leader stood with his arms crossed, waiting for the others to finish piling in. Once everyone was inside of the cave Cole noticed how quiet everything was. The air seemed absolutely still and slightly stale as if it had been undisturbed for quite some time. "Zane, can you give us some light?"

The nindroid nodded as skin began to illuminate. A soft glow emanated from the white ninja, slowly lighting the interior of the dim cavern. Shadows were cast everywhere, making Laurie nervous. She jumped slightly when the shadow from a nearby stalactite crossed over her body. With quick realization she realized that it was not an enemy and relaxed once more. The entirety of the space they stood in seemed empty. How could that be though?

"It doesn't look like anyone is here" Nya stated, her face falling. She was hoping that they were going to find her brother here. Well her hopes were snuffed out now, like the flame on a candle. If Kai and Rhea were not here then where could they be?

Jay noticed Nya looking somber and grabbed her hand. "It's alright, Nya. We're going to find Kai, we just have to figure out where to look now…"

Of course they would not be here. Cole felt humiliated and angry. Skales was not dumb enough to be in the first place they looked. Coming all the way out to the Frozen Wasteland had not been the greatest idea. Not only had they failed in procuring both Kai and Rhea, but now they had no other lead to go on. Where could they be?

"Maybe Skales took them to Ouroboros" Lloyd suggested, leaning back against an icy pillar that stretched up towards the ceiling. He instantly regretted it, feeling the cold creeping through his clothing. With wide eyes, the green ninja decided to support his own body weight. Lloyd caught Laurie chuckling at him and it made him want to push her into another hole.

"Ouroboros is nothing but rubble if you recall" answered Zane. It was difficult for Lloyd to really take anything he was saying seriously. The nindroid was glowing after all, something he had never been a witness to. "When Pythor released the Great Devourer it ruined the city."

Yes, Lloyd remembered watching the Great Devourer destroy Ouroboros. It was not easy to forget that day, the narrow escape that he and the others had made on the Bounty; the day his dad killed the beast and escaped with the four Golden Weapons. It seemed like those events had only occurred yesterday.

"What if Skales took them to one of the other Serpentine Tombs?" Jay asked. The blue ninja watched as Cole contemplated this. He could not help but give a large smile. "Yeah, why would we look for Kai and Rhea in any of the other tombs? We would have no reason to and that would be a perfect place to hide away."

Cole was surprised by the Ninja of Lightning's thought process. It was absolutely ingenious to look at the other Serpentine Tombs. Why was it that he had not thought of that? "Excellent plan, Jay" the leader commended, stowing his scythe in the sheath on his back. "The only problem I can see is that there are four other tombs to check. We don't know what Skales is planning to do with Kai or Rhea. What if by the time we find them he's done something to them?"

"We can split up" the blue ninja replied. "It's not ideal, but that's why we can go in pairs. The buddy system is important." Wow, he was on a roll today. "We split up into three groups and we can cover three of the other tombs!" Hang on a second though, there were _four_ tombs. "I'm not sure how to check the last place though" Jay confessed, noticing the one flaw in his plan. "We could all regroup if we don't find Kai and Rhea and then check the last one together."

Laurie shook her head back and forth. "That might take too long. What if they were in the last one we didn't check? Skales might hurt them or something." The thought scared the orange ninja and she gave a small shudder. "We need to try and check all four of them at the same time. You know, if that's possible." Laurie pulled her hood up over her head before leaning on her bō staff. They needed to get a game plan together as quickly as possible. Time was being wasted.

"My falcon" Zane said suddenly, his tone lighthearted. "I can call for my falcon friend and then we can send him to the final tomb to scout it out. If he happens to come across any evidence of the Hypnobrai's presence he will come back to me. Of course, I will be checking in periodically with my falcon vision as well."

Once more, Cole smiled. Everything was falling into place. "Alright guys, let's split up and head out."

* * *

Hushed voices floated on the air. Rhea's eyes snapped open, taking in the darkness that surrounded her. She could hear Kai's even breathing right above her, indication that he had fallen asleep as well. Not wanting to disturb her friend, the young girl refrained from moving. The voices were faint, the words being exchanged barely audible. Concentrating hard, Rhea strained to hear the conversation.

"The day is halfway over" stressed someone, emphasizing the word "is". It was obviously a snake. "There have been no sign of the ninja at all. Perhaps your plan is not working, sir."

There was the sharp sound of something banging against the hard stone ground of the cave. It sent chills up the purple ninja's spine. "No, the ninja will come" replied a harsh voice. Rhea recognized it as Skales. The discernible sound of his tail on the floor made her lip curl. There was nothing that the girl liked about the Hypnobrai General; nothing at all. "Besides if the ninja do not come then we will just keep the two prisoners. Our army will expand either way, whether it is by two or eight."

So the others had not come to get them yet? Rhea felt her heart freeze in her chest. What if Skales was right and the ninja never came to save them? A flood of tears threatened to spill from her big brown eyes, but Rhea attempted to blink them away. She did not know how much longer she could handle the waiting. Every minute seemed to drag on forever.

No, they would have to come, right? There was no way that any of the others would leave Kai here in the hands of one of their enemies. What about her though? Rhea was just the newest addition to the family, practically nobody. If for some reason the ninja were only able to rescue one of them, they would not hesitate to take Kai in a heartbeat. Then she would be left here with the Serpentine. Of course, it would not be the first time the young girl was forced to stay with company she was not fond of.

A small sniff seemed to reverberate off of the cave walls. Rhea realized she had done it, tears spilling down her cheeks and splashing onto the shoulders of her pajama top. The young girl had not even noticed that she was crying. She tried to stay as silent as possible to avoid being checked on by the Hypnobrai. Kai shifted his body and the purple ninja tensed up.

"Hey, Rhea" the red ninja whispered, noticing the girl still lying her head down on his shoulder. "Is everything alright?" He had heard her crying softly, felt her shoulders heave with silent sobs. Kai was not receiving an answer though and he prompted his question once more. "Is everything alright, Rhea?"

Keeping quiet, the young girl stopped moving. She was going to pretend she was sleeping. Although Rhea did not speak she did not feel like holding a conversation with Kai at this moment in time. He asked if she was alright once more and Rhea felt awful for ignoring him. She tilted her head upwards slightly, meeting his light brown eyes.

Rhea was crying. Kai noticed the faint lines of glistening liquid that trailed down her cheeks illuminated in the faint light of damp cave. "Whatever is making you so upset you can forget about it. The guys are looking for us right now, I know they are." The red ninja watched as Rhea nodded her head slowly and attempted to wipe away the tears on her right cheek with her shoulder. This failed miserably. "You just keep your chin up and don't let those snakes get to you, okay?"

Kai was right. They had to have noticed that both she and Kai were missing by now. The ninja were coming. Her _family_ was coming to save them.

* * *

**So that was my latest chapter and I want to try and finish this story before Christmas since it's seasonal and all. Thanks for being patient, reading, reviewing, and everything else.**

**Also, I passed all of my classes this semester and I'm super excited! X3**


	11. Dark and Sinister: DO NOT ENTER

**Oh wow, this chapter took a long time to write. A ****_really_**** long time to write. I like the way it came out, but it took me a while. Probably not going to finish this story before Christmas like I wanted to, but that just means more story for you guys. Please enjoy this chapter.**

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Chapter Eleven: Dark and Sinister: DO NOT ENTER

The surrounding sky appeared to be stark black, almost as if night had fallen early. Lloyd slowly lowered the Ultra Dragon to the ground and allowed both Laurie and Zane to dismount. The green ninja gazed around the thick forest, remembering the first time he had been here. Cole tapped Lloyd's shoulder and he blinked rapidly, pulling himself out of the past. "Be careful, alright?" the blonde asked forcefully, his expression stern.

Laurie turned around and crossed her arms. "We'll be fine" she replied with a sigh. "You guys be careful too and keep in contact with us." Cole held a small, rectangular contraption in his right hand and showed it to Laurie who nodded. "Yeah, we'll try to see if the connection to Zane works when you are a little farther away." A shrieking howl broke through the silence of the forest, making the girl tense up. "Please just don't forget to come get us eventually" Laurie gulped, rubbing her arms absentmindedly.

"We won't forget about you two" Cole smiled, stowing the walkie talkie in a small holster on his hip. "Come on, Lloyd. We need to start heading out so we can check the Anacondrai Tomb." He heard Lloyd let out a breath and watched as the green ninja flicked the reigns. The Ultra Dragon let out several roars before beating its wings. Zane and Laurie shielded their eyes from the dust that was being kicked into the air. Lloyd and Cole were off of the ground now and gave their friends a quick wave before soaring away from the dark mass of vegetation.

The orange ninja let out a cough before turning towards the path that lay ahead. Mist and fog seemed to roll out from between the trees, covering the overgrown dirt trail that lead through the duration of the forest. "Where exactly are we going again, Zane?" she asked nervously, feeling extremely apprehensive about the current situation. A lone crow cawed from a tree off to Laurie's left and she skittered away, bumping into the nindroid.

"Well, this forest is the location of the Cemetery of Souls. Within the cemetery lies the Fangpyre Tomb." Zane gazed curiously at Laurie, who was gripping on to his shoulder tightly. She seemed to be frightened, her hands slightly shaking. "Laurie, everything will be okay. We should promptly begin our search for Kai and Rhea." The white ninja took a step forward, watching as Laurie relinquished her hold on him.

Zane was walking down the path, his gait steady. Laurie hastily reached down to grab her bō staff. When had she dropped it? She could not properly recall. It must have been when the crow scared her half to death. When the orange decided to go search the Fangpyre Tomb she had no idea that it would be located in such a spooky place. "Z-Zane, wait up!" she stuttered, walking quickly to catch up with her friend.

A sound erupted from a shrub on the left side of the path. Laurie watched, waiting for something to jump out of the vegetation and grab her. She was shaking and ran towards Zane, still looking over her shoulder towards the forest. The orange ninja hit something with great force and fell to the dirt, her bō staff rolling into a pile of dying weeds. With a nervous glance, Laurie looked up to see Zane, standing absolutely still and seemingly mumbling to himself. "Hey, Zane, why'd you stop?" she asked, her voice wavering with nerves. There was no response. Her heart seemed to stop. "Zane, are you okay?"

The nindroid turned around abruptly, his dark blue eyes widening at the sight of Lloyd's sister on the ground. "What are you doing down there?" he inquired, extending a hand out towards the orange ninja. She grabbed it quickly and got to her feet.

"I ran into you" Laurie breathed, bending down once more to retrieve her weapon. Honestly, how was she supposed to fight anything if she could not even keep a decent hold on her bō staff? "Are you alright because when I was talking to you, you didn't answer" she continued, worried about the white ninja. Awful scenarios ran through her head. Was Zane malfunctioning?

He gave Laurie a smile, which calmed her frazzled nerves. "My sincerest apologies" the nindroid answered. "Cole was calling in with the walkie talkie. I received the signal and was answering back." Zane noticed how jittery and anxious Laurie seemed to be. "There is no reason to fret. Let us continue on towards the Cemetery of Souls."

So it was only Cole. She remembered telling him to test out the communications once he and Lloyd were far enough away. The orange ninja let out a long breath which she did not realize she had been holding. Imagination could sometimes be the greatest of enemies. Well, at least they knew that they could communicate with Cole and Lloyd. "Alright, let's keep going" Laurie said with a crooked smile. "Did Cole say if they had made it to the Tomb?"

"Not quite yet, but they are close." The Wildwood Forest seemed to sprawl on forever, trees visible everywhere. Occasionally the sound of an animal would break the eerie silence. Zane felt Laurie grip his left forearm. Why was she so scared? "I sense that you feel uneasy about this place".

Saying that this place was making Laurie feel "uneasy" was the understatement of the century. Everything was terrifying the orange ninja: the rustling of the slight wind through the towering foliage, every sound that was animal in origin, and the fog that continued to roll through the area. "Yeah" Laurie tried to reply sarcastically, but her fear was getting the better of her. "This place makes me feel _uneasy_".

A tall structure laid ahead, the silhouette barely discernible through the low laying clouds. It almost looked like a gate, two poles connected by a horizontal beam towards the top and midline. A glowing red orb was suspended in the middle of a wooden arc, resembling an eye. As the two ninja approached, Laurie was able to see multiple graves jutting out from the ground. Well, they were definitely in the right place.

The dirt path fell away in favor of stone slabs that littered the ground. Some were raised slightly, forming steps up into the cemetery itself. Each stone was worn, weathered by time. Zane stopped his gait, his eyes turning the brightest, fluorescent blue. Laurie's heart was beating fast. What was he doing? "What's going on?" she asked fearfully. Yet again, there was no response. Was something seriously wrong with him? "Zane, please answer me" Laurie pleaded, her grip on his arm tightening.

Zane's eyes returned to normal as he looked at Laurie. "What is concerning you now?" he asked, his expression one of puzzlement. Never had he seen Laurie act like this before.

"Your eyes" the orange ninja breathed, "they were glowing. Were you talking to Cole again?"

The white ninja gave a small laugh. "No, I was not conversing with Cole." The Cemetery of Souls was just ahead, and the nindroid gestured for the pair to continue walking. He was relieved when Laurie released his arm. "I was checking in on the falcon and from what I gather there is no sign of any Serpentine activity at the Toxic Bogs." The two now stood underneath the towering, wooden structure that marked the entrance to the cemetery. "Let us proceed" Zane finished, taking the first step onto the raised stones.

With a deep breath, Laurie followed her friend and attempted to stay as far away from every grave as possible. Death was something that did not settle well with her, especially in an environment such as this. The sudden visual of all of the corpses that lay underneath of the ground caused Laurie to panic. She began walking faster, leaving Zane behind in her wake.

Up ahead stood an old tree, the top splitting off into two separate entities that resembled fanged creatures. Everything looked even more frightening in the dark of the Wildwood Forest. Laurie could almost imagine the mutated hunk of wood reaching down and grabbing her. Shivering slightly, the orange ninja waited for Zane to catch up. The two stood above a carved piece in the rock. It depicted a single snake with a head protruding from each end; the entrance to the Fangpyre Tomb.

"Um…how do we get inside?" Laurie asked plainly.

Zane knelt down on the ground, shooing away the fog that continued to flow through the area. He found a single stone that looked out of place. With curiosity, he pushed it and gave a smile when the stone yielded. A clicking sound was heard as the carved piece of rock swung inwards on a hinge. The dark hole that it revealed was daunting. "That is how we get inside." With a quick motion, the white ninja lowered himself into the tomb, being swallowed up by the shadows.

Laurie followed suit, jumping into the Fangpyre Tomb recklessly. It was taking some time for her ice blue eyes to adjust the utter darkness, but it seemed as if the space she stood in was rather shallow. The ceiling was only a few inches higher than the top of her head. A faint light could be seen a little farther ahead. It had to be Zane. Laurie ran forwards, her footfall echoing off of the damp limestone. "Do you see Kai or Rhea?" she called out.

"No, they are not here" the nindroid answered solemnly.

* * *

"There's the mountain, right over there!" Jay was sitting on the shoulder of Nya's Samurai Mech. She stood inside, piloting the large hunk of metal towards the Mountain of a Million Steps. The jetpack attached to the large exosuit was propelling them forward quickly. The top of the mountain lay ahead. Jay and Nya landed within the mouth of a large snake carved from the craggy, tanned rock. A large maple tree grew from one of the immobile beats' nostrils, causing the blue ninja to chuckle.

He hopped off of the Samurai Mech, kicking up a cloud of dust as his feet hit the rocky surface. "Well, I'm assuming that the giant hole in the ground is the entrance to the Constrictai Tomb" Jay laughed, crossing his arms over his chest. "It kind of screams 'Dark and Sinister: DO NOT ENTER', doesn't it?"

Nya pushed down on the center of the machine, in the middle of the golden spiral. A compartment opened up, allowing the samurai to step out of the exosuit and jump to the ground. She pulled her helmet off, chin-length black hair tumbling loose. "I guess so" she replied, taking her goggles off as well and tossing both items back into the main compartment of the robot. "Let's just head down and she what we can find, okay?"

Jay blushed slightly. Nya looked wonderful, she wore determination quite well. He blinked rapidly, waking himself from his trance, and approached Kai's sister. "Well then what are we waiting for?" The blue ninja gave a small gesture towards a single rope that was tied around a large boulder.

Slightly apprehensive, the samurai traveled forward, grabbing the rope tightly in both hands. She gave it a quick tug, checking the stability of the object before slowly lowering herself down into the Constrictai Tomb. It was not as dark as she anticipated, the light from the surface filtering down into the cavernous area. Nya landed on a slightly raised, circular platform. There was a pattern on it, resembling that of a snail's shell.

Much to Nya's chagrin, the tomb itself was not large. It contained a single room, the one she was standing in. Some cave paintings adorned the walls, depicting several serpents and a repeating symbol; the Constrictai insignia. Unfortunately there were two items that were not present inside of the tomb: Kai and Rhea. "They're not here!" Nya called up, her face falling

"Well, come back up then!" answered Jay, cupping his hands around his mouth to amplify the sound. With a long sigh, the blue ninja unclipped a walkie talkie from his belt. He held down a button on the right side of the device before talking into it. "It's Jay here. Just checked the Constrictai Tomb and there is no sign of either of them." Jay paused, waiting for any kind of response.

For a split second there came the deafening sound of pure static, but it cleared away quickly. "This is Cole. Sorry to hear about that. Lloyd and I just finished checking the Anacondrai Tomb and they aren't here either." Jay could feel his muscles tense up as Nya's head poked out of the hole in the ground. "We're going to start heading back towards the Wildwood Forest and wait for Laurie and Zane."

"Nya, Cole and Lloyd didn't find them in the desert either" he frowned; extending a hand to the girl he cared for. She grasped it tightly and Jay felt himself blush slightly. This was ridiculous. He knew that Nya liked him and vice versa. There was no reason to still be so nervous around her. "I guess we can just head back to Ninjago City and wait until everyone gets back." The blue ninja watched as Nya held a finger to her lips. "Be quiet?" he inquired, confused. His voice lowered to a loud whisper. "Why am I being quiet?"

The samurai grabbed Jay's wrist and practically dragged him down the steps that lead to the bottom of the mountain. "I heard something when I was in the tomb. There were sounds coming from somewhere else, but there was no way for me to get to them through the rock." Jay felt as if he were tripping over his own feet; the two were running down the steps at a breakneck pace. Suddenly, Nya stopped and the blue ninja bumped into her back. "I think this is what we're looking for."

Jay's gaze drifted to where Nya was pointing. There was a hole carved into the side of the mountain, almost hidden from sight due to the winding nature of the staircase. It was somewhat small, allowing only one individual through at a time, and dipped low. "You want us to crawl in there and take a look around?" he asked, feeling nervous.

Nya nodded enthusiastically. "I heard voices coming from somewhere else inside the mountain. This may be the only entrance." She watched Jay with pleading eyes and smiled when he cracked a grin. "Alright" the girl breathed, getting down onto her knees. "This time though, it's men first".

The blue ninja could not help but laugh at Nya's joke. He crouched down and slowly began crawling into the small, dark space. It was taking some time for Jay's hazel eyes to adjust to the lack of light, but the tunnel appeared to be a straight shot through. He had not bumped into any walls or a dead end, so this was promising. Soft voices were barely audible as the two continued their journey forward. Jay could see faint light somewhere up ahead. It was not well lit, but the darkness was less intense than what he was experiencing currently.

"Still no sign of the ninja?" hissed a familiar voice. Jay froze and felt Nya run into him. "It is odd that they haven't shown up yet. I thought for sure that they would immediately try to find the two missing ones." The blue ninja could not tell where Skales was, but he was going to stay in the small tunnel until he was sure the coast was clear. There was the obvious sound of slithering and retreating footfall. Jay waited a few more minutes before crawling out of the tunnel.

The air was slightly humid; each wall of rock seemingly damp. Nya stood next to Jay, gazing around at the slightly dark room. "I didn't know there were more caves in the mountain" she commented, seemingly awestruck by the sheer size of the cavern they were standing in. The samurai took a few steps forward, treading softly to avoid stepping on any loose rocks or debris. "I'm pretty sure we're going to find Kai and Rhea in here."

"They're coming, I promise". A hushed voice was audible from somewhere on the other side of the large space. Nya's heart leapt in her chest as she recognized it as Kai's voice. With a slightly shaking hand, she grabbed Jay's wrist once more and ran forward. Two individuals were visible on the floor, one smaller than the other. "Nya, is that you?" Kai asked, his voice slightly louder due to shock.

His sister nodded quickly and Jay came around to stand next to her. "I'm here too, Kai" he chuckled lightly. "You don't know how glad we are to see you two. All of us have been looking around Ninjago all day." The blue ninja watched as Rhea's eyes widened. "Okay, now we just have to bust you out without anyone noticing."

"That shouldn't be too hard" the red ninja smirked, "you know, as soon as you untie us." Nya was down by his side in a second, fumbling with the ropes that bound his wrists. She soon managed to undo the knots and Kai sighed in relief. He helped his sister unbind his ankles. Rhea took in a sharp breath as Jay pulled the ropes off of her feet. "Please be careful, Jay" Kai pleaded. "Rhea's hurt."

The blue ninja looked at the twelve year old girl. "You're hurt?" he asked, his expression somber. "Can you point to where it hurts?" As expected, the purple ninja pointed to her right ankle. Then she placed both of her fists together before making a quick snapping motion with both. Jay's eyes widened. "You _broke_ your ankle?" he continued, truly worried now. How were they going to get her out of the tunnel in such a condition?

"Hello, Jay. This is Zane speaking. Sorry I did not respond when you called earlier, but the reception was inadequate while down in the Fangpyre Tomb." The walkie talkie on the Ninja of Lightning's hip was practically shouting in the quiet cavern. He fumbled, trying to adjust the volume on the device, but it was to no avail. "Neither Laurie or I could find any evidence of the Hypnobrai here at the Cemetery of Souls. In addition to this troubling news, my falcon found the Toxic Bogs to be completely empty. I suppose we will wait for Cole and Lloyd before meeting you and Nya back home."

Everything went silent and Jay let out a long breath before pushing the button on the walkie talkie. "Yeah, hey there, Zane. I just wanted to let you know that Nya and I actually found what we were looking for, but we probably won't be meeting you back at the house anytime soon." There was hissing coming from behind and Jay turned to see several Hypnobrai Scouts flanking Skales. The General gave a condescending smirk, the grip on his staff tightening.

The walkie talkie sprung to life once more, Zane's voice slightly garbled. Jay could make out Laurie in the background, shouting something that was indiscernible. Skales ripped the device from the blue ninja's grip and pressed the button. "Sorry" he laughed, "your friends are a little busy at the moment." Then the serpent threw the metal communication device to the ground and smashed it with the bottom of his staff.

Jay glanced around nervously. "We're so hooped…"

* * *

**Alright, so if you voted in the poll that I had on my profile until a little earlier this week you will be happy to know that I took your opinion into consideration. Yeah, I'm writing a Rise of the Guardians story. Sound interesting? I have to the first chapter up on here. It's called "****_Of Ice and Frost"_**** if you want to check it out. Since it's more of a side project I won't be updating it as often, but I will continue to work on it. So if you like it, don't worry.**

**Okay, I'm going to be on a mini vacation with my family Friday and Saturday. Then I'm having "Friendship Christmas", Christmas Eve, and then Christmas. Unfortunately, don't expect much updating from me in the next week. Sorry about that. Thanks for reading, as always and I appreciate the support and patience during this holiday season. :)**


	12. How's the Weather Down There?

**Sorry I was gone so long. Holiday season and all. Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas because I know I did. Please enjoy this update. :)**

* * *

Chapter Twelve: How's the Weather Down There?

Laurie was pacing back and forth across the stone slabs, her thoughts away from the environment that she was in and on the words that Jay had just said. Nya and Jay had found Kai and Rhea? How was that possible? The call that they had received prior was of Jay informing everyone that the trip to the Constrictai Tomb had been a waste of time. Now the blue ninja was saying that he found Kai and Rhea. _How was that possible_?

"Are they okay? Is anyone hurt? How did you find them?" she called out, frantic. Laurie noticed Zane trying to relay her messages, but his face fell. The orange ninja ran over to her friend, tears threatening to spill from her eyes. "Zane, what's wrong? I don't like that look you have on your face right now…"

Frowning, the nindroid opened up the small compartment on his arm, hurriedly pushing switches and adjusting a small, notched knob. "It appears that my connection with Jay is failing. I am not able to properly communicate with him." The nindroid was hearing a plethora of static, clouding any sound coming from the other end. Suddenly it stopped, leaving nothing but palpable silence.

"Sorry, your friends are a little busy at the moment" laughed a condescending voice. There was a screeching noise followed by some interference. Then everything went quiet. Zane's dark blue eyes widened as he slowly closed the hinged compartment on his left forearm. Laurie was standing beside him, her hands on his right shoulder. It was obvious that she wished to know what was happening.

The white ninja's eyes met Laurie's, the tension between the two growing. "So, what happened?" the girl inquired. "Is everyone okay?" By the expression on Zane's face, the orange ninja could only guess that everyone was _not_ okay. Ice crept into her veins as the ground seemed to fall out from under Laurie. "What happened?" she demanded, angry now.

"It was Skales" Zane answered plainly, slightly in a daze. "I believe Skales has destroyed our only way of communicating with Jay and Nya."

What? Laurie's heart stopped, her knees wobbling slightly. "W-we have to go get them right now!" the orange ninja stuttered, releasing Zane. With narrowed eyes, she walked purposefully away from the cemetery, ignoring the choir of sounds that erupted from the towering trees on either side of the dirt path. Now it was Zane's turn to try and catch up.

The nindroid closed the distance between himself and Laurie quickly, practically jogging in order to keep up. "Laurie, please try to calm yourself" Zane breathed. There was a roar that interrupted his thoughts. With tired eyes, the white ninja turned his gaze upwards to see the faint silhouette of a familiar dragon, just barely visible over the tree line. "Cole and Lloyd are here now, so we can regroup".

Laurie could not even attempt to calm down. Not only did Skales have Kai and Rhea, but now he had Jay and Nya. Well, there was no reason to jump to conclusions. Both Nya and Jay were capable of defending themselves. They were probably fighting off the Hypnobrai right now, escaping with Kai and Rhea in tow. Yes, there was no need to worry. Everything was going to turn out just fine.

Trapped in her own thoughts, Laurie ran into something rough and scaly. Sprawled out on the ground, the teenager looked up at the Ultra Dragon that now stood in front of her. Cole gave Laurie a curious look, his eyebrows raised. "How did you not see a huge dragon?" the black ninja laughed. "I mean, you didn't even stop. You just ran right into it." He noticed Laurie's serious expression and held back on the jokes. "Is something up?" the Ninja of Earth asked.

"Um, yeah something's up" the orange ninja snapped, getting into a sitting position. Honestly, was she the only one worried about what was happening right now? "I don't know if you heard or not, but Skales kind of destroyed Jay's walkie talkie!" Laurie was gritting her teeth now, trying to get a hold of her anger. She tucked a few loose strands of red hair behind her right ear before getting to her feet. "We need to go to the Mountain of a Million Steps, like, right now!" the girl finished, gripping her bō staff with both hands.

Lloyd's emerald eyes met his sister's. "Of course we heard Skales! We had a walkie talkie with us too you know" the green ninja answered, contempt dripping in his voice. Laurie was acting as if she was the only one that cared about the situation. Well she was not. He was just as concerned as she was, perhaps even more so. Lloyd had known Kai, Jay, and Nya longer than Laurie had. With a set jaw, the green ninja turned towards Cole. "We need to travel to the Mountain of a Million Steps now!"

The orange ninja shakily got to her feet, using the bō staff to steady herself. "Hey, don't try and act like you're the one who's all freaked out right now. No one is more freaked about this whole thing than _me_". Wait, now she was fighting with her brother about who was more concerned? It seemed utterly childish, but Laurie could not help it. "_I'm_ the one who suggested we go help the others right now, so don't try and act like it was your idea, pipsqueak". She let the last word hang in the air among the noises of the forest.

Lloyd gritted his teeth. "Pipsqueak?" the blonde scoffed, sliding off the back of the Ultra Dragon. He stood in front of his sister, their glares locked on each other. Of course, she was looking up at him. "It looks like _you're_ the pipsqueak from where I stand. How's the weather down there anyways, Laurie?" Both Garmadon siblings crossed their arms over their chests, stuck in a face off.

Suddenly, the team leader was in between them.

"Honestly, you two?" Cole asked, his arms held out at full length to separate the quarreling ninja. "Are you guys really arguing about who cares more about what's happening?" The Ninja of Earth watched as both of them lowered their gazes, looking slightly ashamed. At least they were realizing what they were doing now. "We _all_ are worried about the others, okay? You two need to stop arguing because it isn't helping anyone."

"I agree with Cole" the nindroid smiled, absentmindedly petting Shard. "We must all have our wits about us if we wish to rescue our family."

Lloyd sighed, his gaze still on the ground. "You guys are right". He saw Laurie staring at him, waiting for him to say more. Why had they been arguing so much lately anyways? Perhaps it was all the stress that had been accumulating since the ambush at the Frozen Wasteland. It was Christmastime and everything was going terribly wrong. That was enough to get anyone on edge and aggravated, but maybe it was something simpler than that. "Laurie, I'm sorry I pushed you down into the Hypnobrai Tomb" the green ninja apologized, raising his head slightly.

A smile pulled at the edge of his sister's lips and she advanced, pulling her brother into a hug. "That's kind of all I really needed to hear. Sorry about fighting with you, Lloyd." The red head broke the short embrace, stepping backwards on the dying grass. "Guess it's healthy though" the orange ninja chuckled slightly. "We were due for a bought of fighting anyways. That's what siblings do."

Cole placed a single hand on each of their shoulders. "Great, glad you two could set your differences aside and realize that we need to work together to save everyone." He nodded his head towards the large reptile that was beginning to seem restless, swinging its scaled tail back and forth vigorously. "So, I've heard that we need to go to the Mountain of a Million Steps right away" the dark haired boy grinned, his amber eyes smiling. "Well, maybe we should get a move on."

* * *

"I am picking up on several heat signatures. They appear to be located within the mountain itself." Zane continued to analyze the interior of the Mountain of a Million Steps as the group circled in the sky for the third time. The Ultra Dragon took a sudden dip downwards and the warm wind rushed by. "I suppose we can land now" the nindroid concluded, watching as the craggy rocks drew closer. "Though I am not entirely positive where we can land a dragon of the size on the mountain top."

Laurie was becoming slightly dizzy from traveling in circles. Her vision was beginning to swim, but she saw something that looked odd. Was that a dark tunnel carved out of the side of the mountain? Maybe it was just her nauseated eyes playing tricks on her. "Did anyone else see that random cave or whatever it is?" the orange ninja asked, keeping her focus on the back of Cole's head and not the spinning ground below. "I'm pretty sure I saw something that probably wasn't supposed to be there. Just curious if anyone else happened to see it".

A loud voice erupted from the front of the reptile. It was not angry, but raised for the sole sake of being heard. "I think I saw it too, sis!" Lloyd replied. "Can you tell me where you think you saw it? I want to make sure we saw the exact same opening in the same place." Everything behind the blonde fell silent and he turned around to see Laurie's eyes shut tightly. "Are you alright?" the green ninja asked, absentmindedly lowering the reins of the dragon.

The flying reptile brought its large wings in closer, making it more aerodynamic. It dove quickly towards the mountain side, all four heads roaring excitedly. Laurie could feel cold tears streaming out of the sides of her eyes against her will. "No, I'm not alright" she yelled between clenched teeth. Her stomach was flying in to her throat and she gripped Cole's shoulders roughly. "Get a hold of your pet now before I get sick!"

Everyone felt the dragon seemingly come to a halt, all movement virtually stopped. Laurie opened her ice blue eyes cautiously and saw that they were precariously perched on the top of an extremely flimsy maple tree. How in Ninjago was this thin piece of vegetation currently holding the weight of four ninja and a very heavy dragon? Without thinking, the orange ninja slung her left leg over the other side of the dragon's back and slid off into the bright red foliage. The leaves rustled around Laurie as she slowly navigated the bending, creaking branches. Finally on the hard ground, the orange ninja collapsed to her knees and breathed in deeply.

"Laurie, are you okay?" Cole inquired as the other three ninja scrambled off the back of the Ultra Dragon as well. The black ninja landed unsteadily on the rocks and stumbled forward. Lloyd and Zane grabbed his arms and helped him stay on his feet. "Thanks guys" the team leader breathed as they all approached the girl on the ground. With a concerned frown, the Ninja of Earth placed a hand on Laurie's shoulder. "You're obviously not feeling too well. Maybe you should stay here and we'll go look for the others."

Her head felt nauseous. Was it even possible to feel _that_ sick in anywhere other than the stomach? Well, apparently it was possible because Laurie felt absolutely immobilized in her current state. Her vision was swimming with tears and it looked as if everything was revolving around her, literally. "I'm not spinning, right?" she asked weakly, raising her left leg slowly in an attempt to stand.

"You are not spinning" Zane stated plainly. "I believe that when the vestibular system of an individual does not match up to any perceived motion currently happening to said individual they may experience kinetosis." The nindroid walked around to face Laurie and saw the puzzled expression on her face. "My apologies" he continued, smiling slightly. "I believe the simple way to put it is motion sickness."

Motion sickness? "That's impossible" Laurie stated as Cole slowly helped her to her feet. The surroundings were beginning to stabilize more, no longer spinning wildly. "I can't have motion sickness because I can ride on boats, cars, and stuff without a problem." Laurie's vision was becoming normal once more, the fuzzy outlines of each individual becoming crisp once again. The nausea remained. "If someone has motion sickness, don't they get sick on everything that moves?"

Zane shook his head. "According to my database, it is possible for someone to have specified branches of motion sickness. One could be seasick, airsick, or even car sick." The white ninja paused to let Laurie take in the information. "It appears that you may be 'dragon sick'."

"My sister can't ride the Ultra Dragon?" Lloyd questioned, crossing his arms over his chest. "She seemed fine when we were going to the Frozen Wasteland and even the Wildwood Forest."

Laurie groaned at the memories her brother was drudging up. They only seemed to intensify her nausea. "Nope, I really didn't feel the best on either of those trips, Lloyd" the orange ninja confessed, feeling slightly dizzy one more. How could this be happening? The mode of transportation that the ninja preferred was the one that she did not. How was she even going to make it back to the apartment after this whole fiasco without vomiting? "You know what? Let's just go find everyone. I'll be fine in a little while." Laurie took a few steps forward. Well, her balance seemed to be fine. That was a decent start.

"If you insist" Cole shrugged, conceding defeat. It would make him feel better if Laurie just stayed up in this alcove, away from any fighting or confrontation. Then again, if the Hypnobrai were to scout out the area she would be an easy target. Perhaps traveling with them was the best option after all. They all started towards the steps, watching as the sun dipped dangerously low over the horizon. The day seemed to go by in a rush. No one had expected that this was the way they would spend their first Christmas together. "Are you feeling any better, Laurie?"

The orange ninja nodded, regretting the decision instantly. "Oh, yeah" she lied, relieved that her slight lead on everyone hid her face from sight. "I'm feeling much better already. You wouldn't have even known that I was just sick." Why was her nausea not subsiding? Every other symptom had slowly gone away. Step by step, the group descended the mountain. A familiar tunnel caught Laurie's attention and she stopped, happy that she was no longer moving. "This is what I saw when we were in the air" Laurie sighed.

Lloyd came around to stand next to his sister, a smile on his face. "Well this is what I saw too." He placed a hand on Laurie's left shoulder, still worried about his sister's current condition. She said that she was feeling fine, but he could tell that this was not the truth. Laurie was a terrible liar. Gazing now towards the dark tunnel, the green ninja crouched down. "It's really small" Lloyd sighed, his emerald green eyes wavering back and forth in an attempt to discern anything out of the darkness. "I can't really see anything either."

"Allow me to enter first" Zane replied, his tone lighthearted. The nindroid began to crawl inside of the tunnel, faint light emitting from his form. Lloyd shrugged and followed behind him, the two ninja disappearing into the fathomless depths of the tunnel.

The orange ninja watched with tired eyes as her friends disappeared. She suddenly felt so tired, fatigued from her bought of motion sickness. Was that a possible symptom, fatigue? Cole brought Laurie back to reality, nudging her back softly with his right elbow. She turned around quickly and gave a choked laugh when her hair smacked the black ninja in the face. Sputtering wildly, Cole backed up before speaking. "You go in and I'll be behind you. I want to make sure you're okay still."

"Alright then" the girl sighed, lowering herself to her knees. Being closer to the ground helped Laurie feel more stable and in control. Her nausea was beginning to dissipate, for now. With a deep breath, the orange ninja was engulfed in the darkness of the small cave. It was even smaller than she had anticipated, her breathing becoming more labored. Was Zane going to tell her that she was claustrophobic now as well? Shaking the thought aside, Laurie trudged onwards. The faint light coming from the white ninja was barely visible. He and Lloyd were so far ahead. "Slow down" she mumbled under her breath.

A rush of damp, humid air suddenly hit Laurie in the face. She coughed before realizing the area she was now in was larger. Feeling overwhelmed, the orange ninja stood up, trying to figure out where she was exactly. The cavern was, well, cavernous. There was something off about the hidden cave though: everything seemed silent.

"I didn't know this place existed" Cole said, slightly in awe. "Zane and I came here once before, but we only went inside of the Constrictai Tomb. I wonder if the Hypnobrai carved this place out or if it's always been here." The black ninja stepped forward, grabbing his scythe from the holster on his back. "Got your weapon?" he asked Laurie.

The girl looked around, slightly confused, before realizing what Cole was saying. "Oh" Laurie answered, fumbling to grab her bō staff off of her back. Her grip on it was slightly weakened, the nausea returning. The orange ninja closed her eyes suddenly, trying to quell the sickness. It began to subside once more. "Let's go" Laurie continued, opening her eyes.

Cole was gone.

Where was everyone? There was no sign of Kai, Jay, or anyone else that Laurie had expected to find here. Now even those she had traveled with were gone. Noises erupted from another area off to the right. The orange ninja sprinted forward, her right hand flying to her forehead. Maybe she should have stayed up with the dragon. Her current condition was hindering her ability to be of any help. Someone ran into her and Laurie fell backwards, skidding across the uneven ground.

"Oh, it's just you" Lloyd breathed, placing his hands on his knees. "I thought you were right behind us. Why are you still out here?" The green ninja held out a hand and helped his sister to her feet. "You have to help us fight. We're severely outnumbered." Something grabbed Lloyd's left arm and he tried to shake Rattla off. The serpent's grip was tight and the blonde closed his eyes as he delivered a swift kick to the Hypnobrai's chest. He turned back towards Laurie who had backed away from the tussle. "Laurie, you have to help us!"

She bit her bottom lip. "I was lying earlier, Lloyd" Laurie yelled weakly. "I still feel kind of sick. I don't know how much I could help you guys." She stumbled backwards and used her bō staff to steady herself. This was awful, being immobilized by her own mind. Laurie watched as Lloyd's eyes widened. "Please don't look at me like that" she pleaded desperately. "I'll try and help you guys out as best I can, but there's no guarantee that I'll actually be helpful."

"No, look out!" her brother shouted, trying to cover the distance between them quickly.

Laurie was tackled from her right side. She and her assailant hit the ground hard and the orange ninja gasped for air. Her weapon flung out of her hand and Laurie could hear it rolling across the floor, away from her. Kai's light brown eyes held nothing but hatred and malice, making Laurie squirm. She wondered what had happened to him, why he was acting like this, but then she remembered everything. Her eyes drifted to his right wrist, where she saw the liquid inside of the bracelet gleam in the low light. She was trying to push him off, but Kai pinned her arms down. "Lloyd, help!" the girl cried out, scared.

Kai watched helplessly as the girl he loved looked up at him, on the verge of tears. He unsheathed the sword at his hip quickly, watching as the long blade grew. Fire danced up and down the weapon, reflecting in Laurie's terrified eyes. The red ninja tried to stop himself, put the sword down, but he could not. With every beat of his heart he could feel the icy venom flowing through his body. The edge of the sword was now at Laurie's throat. Kai felt a single tear slip down his cheek.

_Now kill her_ Skales commanded.

* * *

**Yeah, so I'll probably be updating more often now that Christmas is actually over and I no longer have horrendous writer's block. My writer's block was really, really bad. Thanks for reading and continuing to stick with me and this story during my writer's block and unexpected hiatus. I appreciate it. :)**

**What was the best present you either gave or received this year? My favorite was a Japanese tea set from my mother. :3  
**


	13. I Think I Found It

**Happy New Year everybody! This year is just going to be awesome, I can feel it. Yay, new year means new chapter so here you go! :D**

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Chapter Thirteen: I Think I Found It

"No" Kai grunted, trying to stop himself. His right hand was shaking violently as he attempted to fight against Skales' control. The red ninja shut his eyes tightly, refusing to look at the terrified expression on Laurie's face. "You have to go" he managed to say between clenched teeth, shakily getting to his feet. Slowly, he opened his eyes once more to see Laurie crying. Kai gave a small grin, sweat beading on his forehead. "Laurie, you have to get out of here."

She gazed up at him, utterly speechless. Everything was happening so quickly; Kai attacking her, threatening her, and now telling her to leave. The orange ninja shook her head slowly back and forth, still lying down on the ground. How could she just leave him here? Laurie had come to rescue him, rescue _all_ of her friends. "I-I can't leave you" she managed to say in between breaths.

Skales was hissing angrily. _Do not defy me, ninja_ the Hypnobrai General growled. Kai felt the pressure inside of his head increase, almost unbearable now. He barely noticed the pricking sensation of the bracelet on his wrist injecting even more venom into his system. Laurie was just lying there on the floor, seemingly testing his willpower.

The sword in Kai's right hand was warm and comforting. He grabbed the hilt with both hands, holding the weapon far away from his own body. With a tired expression, the red ninja watched as the tip wavered only six inches from Laurie's chest. "You _have _to, Laurie" he replied, voice strained. "I know you don't want to. You came all this way just to come get me and everyone else that was trapped here." Kai felt his arms becoming extremely heavy, the sword feeling like a ton of bricks. "I don't want to hurt you, so you have to leave now!"

Laurie's ice blue eyes were now trained on Kai's Elemental Sword. The fire was so bright in the dimly lit cave. It lashed out at the thin air, quickly shrinking back against the seemingly iridescent blade when it stretched too far. The orange ninja could see Kai's pleading eyes in the glowing light. His face almost looked as if it were contorted in pain now. Laurie knew how much he was fighting, trying to gain control of his actions. The very tip of Kai's blade sunk closer and Laurie instinctively held her breath. She was becoming less confident in the red ninja's self-control, but she could not move. Pure fear was now immobilizing her. "I know you won't hurt me" the orange ninja tried, hoping that her words would aid in Kai's fight.

Why was she not moving out of the way? Was the sword growing heavier or were Kai's arms just becoming weaker? He could feel his arms lowering now, resisting his control. Words were attempting to form on his lips, warnings for Laurie to get out of the way, but the red ninja could not speak. Every inch inside his body was ice cold with the awful venom. His vision was even beginning to slip. Without warning, Kai jabbed the sword downwards just as a blur of green zipped by.

Lloyd had Laurie tight in his grip, the two siblings rolling across the craggy rock. The sound of the sword striking the ground reverberated throughout the cavern. Laurie stopped moving, her eyes locked on to Lloyd who lay next to her. "Thanks" she barely whispered, her breath slowly returning. "I thought for sure I was a goner…"

"Why didn't you move?" the green ninja shouted, sitting up. His emerald eyes were narrowed slightly as he got to his feet, offering a hand to his sister. Laurie took it gratefully, but almost lost her footing when Lloyd pulled her up roughly. "Kai was telling you to go, but you wouldn't! Do you realize how hard it probably was for him to _not_ kill you? Seriously, Laurie, _what were you thinking_?"

The orange ninja wiped away the trails of tears that still felt wet on her cheeks. "I-I don't know what I was thinking" she sniffed. "I guess I was thinking that he really wouldn't hurt me, Lloyd." Tears were threatening to fall once more, collecting in the corners of her eyes. "He tried to though and I was so scared I couldn't move." She heard Kai give a frustrated cry before charging at them, blade poised. "Kai..." Laurie breathed, sadness welling up inside of her.

Lloyd felt his body tense up as he watched the red ninja approach quickly. He grabbed Laurie's right wrist before running. "You were doing it again" he shouted, turning his head quickly to see Kai adjusting his course accordingly. "Laurie, you were just standing there like an idiot. We can't just stand around and wait for him to get us; we have to fight back." Lloyd leapt to the side, avoiding a stalagmite that jutted out of the ground. "Where's your staff?" the green ninja asked suddenly, his nervous grip tightening around Laurie's wrist.

"I don't know where it went" the girl replied, almost losing her footing several times along the journey. Laurie could hear Kai behind them, but she would not turn around to see how close he was getting; she could not bring herself to. "It rolled away from me when I was tackled so it could be anywhere…" Lloyd fell forward, dragging his sister down with him. Laurie could feel the cool, cave floor against her face and she groaned. "What happened?" she asked.

The green ninja searched the ground, looking for the mysterious object that had tripped him up. It was a long, wooden cylinder that was slowly traveling away from him. With a frown, Lloyd procured it and got to his knees. "I think I found it" he sighed, holding Laurie's bō staff in both hands. "Have you ever thought of trying to use a different kind of weapon? You know, one that will actually stay in one place even if you're tackled to the ground."

Laurie narrowed her eyes and grabbed the staff out of her brother's hands. "At least I have a weapon" she scoffed, slowly getting to her feet. "I can't recall you _ever_ having a weapon of _any_ kind." With nothing but silence as a response, Laurie turned around only to see Kai lunge at her. His fiery blade was brought down quickly.

Without thinking Laurie widened her hold on the weapon, each hand about eight inches from the ends of the staff. She placed her left foot backwards slightly for balance and felt her arms shudder as Kai's blade made contact with the middle of her weapon. Laurie gritted her teeth as she pushed back against the red ninja. "Kai, I know you're still in there" she pleaded, her breathing becoming labored due to strain. "You were fighting Skales earlier so you can do it again." There was the smell of something burning and it appeared that Kai was beginning to slice his way through the girl's weapon. "Lloyd, I don't know how much longer I can hold him off".

"Ninja-Go!" the green ninja yelled, his Spinjitzu tornado advancing on Kai. The red ninja cried out as Lloyd barreled into him, sending him and his sword into a stone wall. Lloyd turned back towards Laurie who watched the entire thing with wide eyes. "Um…you should probably drop your weapon, sis, because _it's on fire_!"

Blinking quickly, the orange ninja noticed that her staff was indeed being engulfed in flames. She dropped it suddenly and took a few steps backwards. The bō staff burned from the middle and outwards; every inch slowly becoming nothing but dark grey ashes. "I never even considered something like this happening!" Laurie gasped. "I mean, of course fire burns wood!"

Lloyd gave a stifled chuckle. "It seems to me that I'm not the only one without a weapon now." He ignored the glares from his sister and turned back to face the opposite direction. Kai was unsteadily getting to his feet, using the wall to help him regain some balance. "He just won't give up" the green ninja frowned. "How are we supposed to help him if he keeps attacking us?"

"The venom inside of the bracelet" Laurie said suddenly, hurrying to stand next to her brother. "I don't know how much of it is left, but it's being absorbed into Kai's body or something. If it runs out then maybe he'll be able to control himself." She was so hopeful now; perhaps this new plan of attack could actually work. "If we can keep him fighting, keep him distracted maybe we'll burn out the venom."

Nodding, Lloyd took up a fighting stance. His emerald eyes were locked on to Kai. "You better be right about this" he chastised, feeling slightly fatigued. "If we make one wrong move we're done." Kai narrowed his eyes, sword pointed forward, and charged. "Last chance to run, Laurie" the green ninja stressed, his heart beating faster. "You sure you want to try and do this?"

"Yeah" Laurie shouted, not feeling very confident in her own plan. Kai stabbed his sword forward, but the orange ninja clumsily jumped to the right, barely avoiding the edge of the blade. Lloyd took this opportunity to kick Kai in the side, watching as the red ninja stumbled. Unfortunately, he stumbled into Laurie.

The two fell to the ground, neither realizing what had just happened. Laurie skittered backwards, her palms sliding along the damp rocks. "Thanks for that, Lloyd" she said sarcastically, standing quickly. Kai came at her again, grabbing the collar of her shirt with his left hand and lifting her off of the ground.

Laurie kicked her feet wildly, searching for the ground that was no longer there. She gripped Kai's forearm in an effort to prevent herself from choking. Kai brought the Elemental Sword around slowly, the glow emitting from it illuminating the bracelet on his right wrist. "He really doesn't have too much venom left in the bracelet" the orange ninja managed to say. "It shouldn't be long now".

Once more, the girl felt the hard ground make contact with her body. Lloyd had tackled Kai, causing an unwanted chain reaction. The three ninja lay in a heap on the cave floor, seemingly motionless. The green ninja groaned as he sat up. "Sorry about that" he apologized weakly, one of his eyes closed. "You get kind of desperate and reckless without a weapon, don't you?"

"Yeah, I know the feeling" Laurie laughed. This was becoming exhausting, the fighting and dodging. Sure, there was not much of the liquid left in Kai's bracelet, but Laurie was not sure how much longer she herself could last. Still weak from the bought of motion sickness, the constant movement was making the orange ninja feel extremely tired. She closed her eyes and let out a breath. "Can you help me up, Lloyd?"

There was a strangled cry and Laurie's eyes snapped open to see Kai fling her brother across the cavern. Lloyd hit the floor hard and stayed down. The red ninja then turned his attention towards Laurie. She almost froze, but used her hands to push herself backwards. Then, the orange ninja's back hit the wall. She was trapped between her crazed boyfriend and a hard place. Instinctively, Laurie reached behind her, searching for her staff. "Oh my gosh, it burned up" the girl squeaked, fear creeping through her body.

Kai gave a wicked grin, the flames from the sword reflecting in his light brown eyes. He saw Laurie staring up at him, the situation familiar. _No holding back now, young fire starter. Kill her _Skales ordered, his tone smug. Kai noticed the pressure in his head beginning to subside slightly. His arm swung in front of him, the blade horizontal.

Laurie held her breath, eyes closed. It had been senseless to believe that her plan would actually work. Now she was going to pay the ultimate price: her life. The heat from the flames was intense as it approached her throat, but it settled on the left side of her neck. Slowly, the orange ninja opened one eye and saw the Elemental Blade wavering near her, its journey halted.

Then Kai dropped it to the ground.

The red ninja was on his knees, breathing heavily. Laurie sat up, her back pressed against the cave wall. "Are you alright, Kai?" she asked tentatively, refusing to come any closer. Perhaps this was a trick. Her eyes rested on the sword, lying next to her. Biting her lip, the orange ninja kicked it away and watched as it clattered along the rocky ground. "Kai, say something" Laurie pleaded, turning her attention back towards her boyfriend. "Say anything."

A small clicking sound echoed through the cavern as the bracelet detached itself from Kai's wrist, the empty gem shattering as it hit the floor."Merry Christmas" the Ninja of Fire smiled before he passed out.

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**Almost done with this story, I promise. One more chapter left. Thanks for reading and everything, like always. I appreciate it.**

**I'm looking forward to working on the projects that I have planned for this year and all of the stories that you guys will be writing as well. Let's make this year totally awesome! X3**


	14. The World is Full of Trees

**Last chapter! U:**

**It's kind of short, but I really didn't think it was necessary to make this too long. It's kind of short, sweet, and to the point. Emphasis on the sweet because I felt all warm and fuzzy inside writing this. XD**

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Chapter Fourteen: The World is Full of Trees

There were hushed voices coming from everywhere. Kai could feel his neck draped over something that was slightly hard and uncomfortable, yet the surface underneath his body was plush. With uncertainty, the red ninja slowly opened his eyes. He was back in the apartment and his family surrounded him. The only light in the living room came from the twinkling lights of the Christmas tree.

"Wait, is that the tree?" Kai asked quizzically, lifting his aching neck off of the arm of the sofa. He sat up, bewildered at the fact that he was actually home. It felt as if he had been away for the longest time, but looking back on the whole ordeal the red ninja realized he had been gone for less than a day. The night sky behind him was pitch black and devoid of any stars. "That's a Christmas tree, but I burned it. I know I destroyed our tree because Rhea saw me!"

One individual separated themselves from the others, a small laugh escaping their lips. "So you admit that you destroyed the tree? I always knew you were a troublemaker." Garmadon gave a grin and crossed his arms over his chest. "This time though you needed more than just your Sensei to help you out." The confused look on Kai's face only made the former evil lord laugh harder. "We're family now, boy. Families look out for each other."

"The tree though!" Kai continued, utterly flabbergasted. "It didn't just appear out of nowhere so where did it come from?"

There was a chorus of stifled chuckles. "Um…you do realize that the world is full of trees, right?" Jay started, his lips pursed together to avoid any unnecessary outburst of laughter. "When we were all gone today Dr. Julien went out and picked up another one." The blue ninja watched his friend's eyes widened. "You didn't think it was still Christmas, did you? Well it is, but not for much longer. There's probably only an hour left."

It was still Christmas? The simple thought made Kai's head spin. With a somewhat blank expression, he turned towards Zane's creator and nodded slowly. "Thanks so much" the red ninja breathed, still stunned at the sight of the Christmas tree. He watched as Dr. Julien gave a smile and placed his hand on Zane's shoulder. Kai was having a little trouble discerning each individual from the group, the bright lights behind them making each person's features dark. "Where's Rhea?" he asked, looking for the shortest ninja.

A rhythmic thumping sound started across the wooden floor. The young girl approached slowly, looking awkward on the metal crutches that she gripped tightly. Her right leg was encased in a bright purple cast that ended just below the knee. Kai's face fell as Rhea stopped directly in front of him, her big eyes wide. Steadily, she shifted her body weight entirely on to her left foot, leaning heavily against the crutch. Then she gave the red ninja a light kick in the shin with her cast before smirking.

Kai reached down and rubbed his right shin dramatically. "Ouch" he exclaimed sarcastically, "that really hurt! You sure know how to give some payback, don't you?" The girl cracked a smile, a real one. Her teeth practically gleamed in the low light. Standing quickly, Kai pulled the purple ninja into a hug. "I'm really sorry that I hurt you" he apologized. "I really didn't mean to, honestly". He broke the short embrace and saw Rhea waving one hand up and down. She seemed to think it was all water under the bridge.

"Don't you want to see what you got for Christmas?" Laurie inquired, popping up next to Rhea. She held a small red box that had been tied closed with a bright, green ribbon. "We really didn't have much time to get anything for everyone with everything that was happening, but someone managed to get some presents." Without waiting for Kai to respond, the orange ninja thrust the box into his hands.

Tentatively, Kai pulled the ribbon off and watched as it gently floated to the floor. What could be inside the box? It was not very big and he had not asked for anything specifically. The red ninja's fingers curled around the edge of the lid and he slowly pried it off. Flowering tissue paper concealed the object inside and Kai pulled it out, shoving it onto the sofa cushion behind him. His light brown eyes widened in shock as he lifted the present out of the box.

It was a dark red ornament with a flame embellishing the front.

This was the ornament that Garmadon had given him the day prior. It was the only one that he had not destroyed in his uncontrollable outburst. He could see his faint reflection warped in the shining glass. "I can't accept this" he argued, placing the ornament back inside of the box. "All of the other ones broke and it isn't fair to everyone else." The box felt much heavier than it had before, almost as if the small ball of glass had absorbed all of the guilt Kai was currently feeling.

"Nonsense" Garmadon replied, making his way over towards the red ninja. The aging man reached inside the box and pulled the ornament out himself. "This is part of a set, boy. The entire collection would not be complete if one was missing." He gestured to Laurie who gently took Kai's arm and lead him over to the Christmas tree.

Not only were the dark pine needles adorned in glowing white lights and glittering tinsel, but they were also adorned with ornaments; ornaments that seemingly resembled the one that Garmadon currently held. Kai could make out each color and symbol that he had previously broken; a dark blue ornament with a lightning bolt, a white one with a snowflake, a black one with a large boulder, an orange one with swirling white patterns, a green ornament with a golden dragon, and a lavender ball with a small black star.

They were all here, each gift that he had watched smash to the floor. Kai turned towards Laurie who just grinned and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "I don't understand" the red ninja managed to say, turning back towards his former enemy. "How did you do this? It's Christmas and most of the local shops are closed for the day. Not to mention how long it must have taken to make each one…"

Garmadon took the box that Kai still held in his left hand and replaced it with the ornament. "It wasn't too difficult" he smiled. "The little shop I ordered them from was still open, but some other orders had to be put on the back burner. They didn't mind helping me though; you know I _did_ save the city from the Great Devourer. People still haven't forgotten about that." He winked and watched as his only daughter pulled one of the only individuals he had ever despised into a hug. "Merry Christmas, Kai" Garmadon finished, backing away from the two ninja.

"Go on, hang it up" Laurie urged, her excitement obvious. With a slightly shaking hand, Kai located his sister's ornament, a light red ball with a soaring phoenix on it. He hung his ornament on the branch next to it and felt a smile pull at the edge of his lips. Today was still Christmas, the first Christmas he had spent with his entire family. Kai grabbed Laurie's hand and led her away from the tree. They stood near the television set, watching the twinkling glow of the tree in the low light.

Someone nudged Kai's shoulder and he turned to see Cole. The black ninja gave a sly smile and pointed upwards to a small, green plant that was suspended from the ceiling. Its spiky leaves and red berries seemingly taunted the Ninja of Fire. He grinned, placing one hand on Laurie's back and another behind her head before dipping her slightly. Their lips met and the two kissed as everyone else watched.

"Ew, gross!" complained Lloyd, crossing his arms. "I don't care how much it happens, I will _never_ get used to _that_!" The green ninja could not help but laugh along with everyone else.

Kai and Laurie broke apart, the girl's face blushing bright red. She looked up into his eyes, her breathing quick, and pulled him into yet another embrace. "I'm so happy you're okay" she whispered into the red ninja's left ear. "I love you, but promise me that we'll never go to the Frozen Wasteland again."

He laughed, feeling his fingers tangle in Laurie's bright red hair. "I, Kai, do hereby promise that we'll never go to the Frozen Wasteland again." The two pulled apart, but the red ninja let his hands linger on Laurie's shoulders. "Besides, I remember a certain someone saying that snow was a little too cold for them" Kai continued, giving a small smirk.

Rhea took a seat on the sofa, the heavy cast on her leg making a dull thud against the wooden floor. She watched as her family conversed and ate, happy to just be in each other's company. It had been so long since she had had a family, a group of individuals that cared for her. Her eyes lingered on the clock which showed that it had been December twenty-sixth for about an hour now. No one seemed to care though. It was still Christmas in their hearts. Rhea closed her eyes and felt a smile once again cross her face. Despite everything that had happened, this was the best Christmas ever.

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**Thank you so much to everyone who stuck with me and read this. Thanks for all of the reviews, follows, favorites, etc. I appreciate it all so much! X3**


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